Rafael Nadal Wins Again

Rafael Nadal defeated Roger Federer for the 14th time in the 21 times they have played one another over the weekend in Madrid. Nadal captured his third straight Masters title this year, which also gave him his record-breaking 18th Master title overall one more than Andre Agassi and two more than Federer.

No one should really be surprised at the end result. Even discounting the history between the two, Nadal's clay court form this year has been perfect while Federer has struggled. It's a testament to Federer that despite his difficulties on clay this season, he was able to reach the finals and put up a fight against the King of Clay. Though losing in straight sets 4-6 (5)6-7, Federer was able to play aggressively and mix it up breaking the unbreakable Nadal more than once.

Heading into the second Grand Slam of the year in Roland Garros, which begins next week, four-time champion Nadal is the hot favorite to recapture the title. Defending champion Federer is the next best bet especially in light of his results in Madrid. Plus with Nadal going back to #2 in the rankings, the only time both of them would meet would be in the finals.

For the women, this clay season has given us chock full of surprising winners and champions unable to go the distance. The end result this weekend pretty much encapsulated that with unseeded Aravane Rezai defeated Venus Williams in the final. Venus partnered with her sister Serena Williams to capture the doubles title. Another American sibling duo capture the men's doubles title as Bob and Mike Bryan defeated their rivals Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic.