Rafael Nadal- Getty Images

Nadal Completes Rare Double Feat

April 28, 2008

Spaniard Rafael Nadal made history once again on Sunday and in the process further cemented himself as one of the greatest players ever on clay.

The world No. 2 captured both the singles and doubles titles at the Masters Series Monte-Carlo event in Monaco, joining American Jim Courier (1991 Indian Wells) as the only men to collect both trophies at the same Masters Series event.

Nadal began the day by winning his fourth straight singles championship in Monte-Carlo, a feat that has not been accomplished since New Zealand's Anthony Wilding won four in a row nearly a century ago. Rafa earned the Masters Shield with a stunning 7-5, 7-5 victory over Swiss superstar Roger Federer in the final. After closing out the first set, Nadal was forced to rally in the second when Federer jumped out to a big 4-0 lead. But the capri-clad Spaniard fought back, closing the gap slowly but surely until he was able to put away the match in a little under two hours. He has now defeated Federer in three straight Monte-Carlo finals and recorded a triumph over his arch rival for the seventh time in eight career meetings on clay.

It was not an easy draw for Nadal as all five of his opponents were current or former top 10 players, but he made it look simple by turning aside wildcard Mario Ancic (Croatia), No. 13 seed Juan Carlos Ferrero (Spain), No. 5 David Ferrer (Spain), and No. 4 Nikolay Davydenko (Russia) without dropping a set.

For Federer, the overall result can be seen as a positive one even though he has now dropped three consecutive Monte-Carlo finals to Nadal. So far this season he has yet to live up to the lofty expectations he set for himself over time, and the beginning of this tournament almost ended in disaster as he came within one game of a second round exit at the hands of Spanish qualifier Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo. But Federer rebounded as the week went on to defeat elite players such as No. 6 seed David Nalbandian (Argentina) in the quarter-finals and No. 3 Novak Djokovic (Serbia) in the semis. And despite leaving Monte-Carlo empty-handed, Federer proved in the final that he has the ability to challenge Nadal on clay.

Nadal was left with little time to enjoy his victory as he went back on court shortly after his triumph, this time alongside countryman Tommy Robredo, to battle for the doubles trophy against No. 4 seeds Mahesh Bhupathi (India) and Mark Knowles (Bahamas). An intriguing battle between the power game of the Spaniards and the fast hands of the doubles specialists materialized into a shocking 6-3, 6-3 victory for Nadal and Robredo, the first Masters Series doubles title for both of them.

For the Indian-Bahamian duo the appearance in the championship round marked their fourth final in their past five tournaments, a run that has included a pair of titles (in Memphis and Dubai). The new partnership is so far working out well for them as they’ve compiled a 24-7 record in 2008 and are currently ranked No. 2 in the Stanford ATP Doubles Race.