MOSCOW, May 19 (R-Sport) – World number five Rafael Nadal defended his title at the ATP Rome Masters on Sunday with his easiest victory over Roger Federer ever, prevailing 6-1, 6-3 in just 72 minutes.
The Spaniard takes a sixth title this season since his return from a seven-month injury layoff, reaching the final in all eight tournaments he has entered.
Nadal dominated the Swiss star like never before, making only eight unforced errors and smashing 12 winners on his way to a record seventh Rome title.
It is a 20th career victory for Nadal in 30 meetings with Federer, who has never before taken as few as four games against the Mallorcan.
A chief warm-up for the French Open, the Rome Masters is one of the biggest clay tournaments of the season with a prize fund of $3.4 million, $657,000 of which will go to Nadal.
