Nadal beats Djokovic for his 1st grass-court title

[June 16, 2008]  LONDON (AP) -- Rafael Nadal claimed his first career grass-court title Sunday, defeating Novak Djokovic 7-6 (5), 7-5 in the Queen's Club final to become the first Spaniard to win on grass in 36 years.

It was the French Open champion's third win in the last three tournaments over the second-seeded Djokovic, following semifinal victories in Hamburg and at Roland Garros. Andres Gimeno was the last Spaniard to win on grass, at Eastbourne in 1972.

Nadal is also the first player to win at Roland Garros and Queen's Club in the same year since Ilie Nastase in 1973.

"This week was amazing for me," Nadal said.

The win should give Nadal a confidence boost ahead of Wimbledon, particularly after his resounding straight-sets win over No. 1 Roger Federer in the French Open final.

"Wimbledon is (a) very, very important tournament, and the motivation is 100 percent," Nadal said. "Doesn't matter if I am tired mentally. Physically is a little bit more important, but I think physically I'm fine."

Federer, who has won the last five Wimbledon crowns, lost to Djokovic in this year's Australian Open semifinals. The Swiss earned his fifth title at Halle, Germany, earlier Sunday to extend his streak on grass to 59 wins.

Early on, Djokovic threatened to sweep the top-seeded Nadal aside in the same manner as his 6-1, 6-0 demolition of David Nalbandian in the semifinals.

Djokovic survived a break point in the opening game and then took a 2-0 lead on his fourth break point when he forced a forehand error from Nadal. The Serb earned a break point for a 4-0 lead, but Nadal struck a cross-court forehand winner and went on to break Djokovic in the fifth game.

Djokovic had another opportunity in the tiebreaker, leading 6-5 when a forehand from Nadal clipped the net cord and landed wide. Nadal leveled at 6-6 with a forehand winner, and two points later Djokovic netted a return to concede the set.

Nadal took advantage of Djokovic's frustration by breaking to lead 2-0 in the second set, but Djokovic immediately broke back before Nadal received treatment for blisters on his racket hand.

Both players had opportunities late in the set.

Nadal dropped his serve at love to leave Djokovic serving for the set, but the Spaniard won the final three games of the match, closing out with an easy volley at the net.

Djokovic was pleased with his performance -- especially since he has been playing on grass only three years.

"Well, I tried. It was a great match," he said. "It was a great atmosphere. It's been a terrific week."

[Associated Press]

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