Nadal gains revenge over Federer in Hamburg

HAMBURG, Germany (Reuters) - Spain's Rafael Nadal struck a telling psychological blow a week before the French Open by beating world number one Roger Federer in the final of the Hamburg Masters on Sunday.

The 21-year-old Spaniard claimed the only Masters Series event on clay to have eluded him by ousting the Swiss top seed 7-5 6-7 6-3 to give him the perfect preparation for the defense of his Roland Garros crown in Paris.

Federer, the defending champion who ended Nadal's record 81-match unbeaten run on clay in last year's Hamburg final, began the match strongly, opening up a 5-1 lead and twice serving for the set.

But Nadal refused to lie down and reeled off the next six games to take the first set and then broke the Federer serve in the opening game of the second.

The Swiss broke back twice and missed a chance to level the match serving at 5-3 but upped his game in the tiebreak, winning it 7-3.

Nadal got the crucial break in the fourth game of the deciding set and closed out the match with a whipped crosscourt backhand winner after just under three hours of play.

"Rafa has played incredibly well again the whole week and the whole clay season," Federer told the 11,000 spectators at the Rothenbaum after accepting his runners-up trophy.

"It's hard for the rest of us but hopefully it will be a different story in Paris," he added.

MORE CONFIDENCE

Nadal, who now has a 10-6 winning record against Federer and 8-1 on clay, will be favorite to win his fourth title in Paris.

The Mallorcan beat both of his closest rivals this week, having defeated world number three Novak Djokovic in a thrilling, three-hour semi-final on Saturday.

"For sure this has given me more confidence for Roland Garros," he said at a news conference.

Nadal took a medical timeout at 2-5 down in the first set on Sunday and said he had taken an anti-inflammatory after feeling a twinge in his right hamstring.

"I felt something in the leg, a bit of pain," he said. "Tomorrow I think I am going to do another check but I believe if I play the whole match like this it can't be a very important injury."

The French Open title is the only grand slam missing from Federer's trophy cabinet and the 26-year-old said on Sunday he was feeling physically well and there was no trace of the health problems that plagued him earlier in the season.

"Maybe Rafa is struggling physically a little bit more because of the stress levels of the last few weeks but I am completely fine," he told a news conference.

It may be the last time a Masters Series is played in the German port city.

The ATP wants to replace the Hamburg event with one in Madrid and the German Tennis Federation (DTB) has challenged the plan in a U.S. court. A decision is expected in August.

(Editing by Miles Evans)