Toronto - Nicolas Kiefer fell victim to the momentum of
Rafael Nadal as the Spaniard claimed his fifth straight trophy of the
season with a 6-3, 6-2 victory in the final of the Toronto Masters on
Sunday.
The 31-year-old German has now gone a frustrating 140 tournaments
without a title since lifting his last in Hong Kong eight years ago.
Nadal has climbed to within 300 ranking points of Roger Federer,
who was stunned in his opening second-round match this week by
France's Gilles Simon.
Nadal claimed his 29th consecutive victory since losing in Rome on
May 7 to lift his second Canadian title after Montreal in 2005.
The 31-year-old Kiefer paid tribute to the most powerful player in
the game after going down in 90 mutes on four breaks of serve.
Nadal improved to a perfect 4-0 in the series, with all meetings
in 2008.
'Rafa is certainly the greatest competitor,' said the German
ranked 37th and playing for the first time in a Masters final. 'This
was another great win for him.
'He's surely the next number one. I lost this match but I can say
I made it to the final.'
Nadal becomes the third-youngest man in the sport's history after
Bjorn Borg and Jimmy Connors to win 30 titles. But records are the
last thing on the mind of the reigning French Open and Wimbledon
champion.
'Right now, my most important goal was to win Toronto. I'll think
about the record when my career is over,' said the 22-year-old.
Nadal has won his last 29 matches, last losing with blister
problems in the Rome second round nearly three months ago.
The ranking race gets serious starting on Monday in Cincinnati as
Nadal pulls to within 300 points of Federer with the pair leading
that Masters field at the late tournament before the start of the
Beijing Olympics.
Federer has been training in Ohio since crashing to Gilles Simon
in the Toronto second round.
The Swiss has been at the top for more than four years, but Nadal
is closing fast after seven trophies this season compared to just a
pair for his rival.
Were Federer to again be upset early, a Nadal title could mark the
changing of the guard, according to ATP calculations.
Nadal won the opening set on two breaks and overcame Kiefer
resistance in the fifth game of the second. With that one stretching
to five deuces, Nadal held for 3-2.
Nadal then forged ahead as Kiefer lost the plot, firing back-to-
back double faults to drop to 2-4. The Spanish second seed took the
victory two games later on his first match point, an overhead winner.
Nadal now owns a dozen Masters Series shields and seven titles
this season alone, all but two at major events.
USA
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