Rafael Nadal moved a step closer in his quest to oust Roger Federer as the world number one with a comfortable 6-3 6-2 victory over Nicolas Kiefer in the final of the Toronto Masters.
The number two seed overpowered his German opponent with a range of stunning groundstrokes and never relinquished his strong grip on the final after breaking early in the first set.
The title win, Nadal's fifth in succession, came in just under 90 minutes in front of a packed out Canadian crowd and ensured the 22-year-old remains hot on the heels of Federer, who is in grave danger of losing his four-and-a-half-year world number one status.
Nadal also extended his unbeaten run to 29 matches - his last defeat coming at the hands of compatriot Juan Carlos Ferrero in Rome last May.
The Spaniard's victory marked his second trophy in Canada after claiming the title in Montreal three years ago.
After breaking brave Kiefer in the fifth and ninth games of the first set, Nadal never looked back as the German remained powerless to prevent the rampant southpaw.
At 2-2 in the second set the unseeded Kiefer wasted a couple of break point opportunities before Nadal went on to claim four consecutive games and surge within 300 points of Federer in the ATP rankings.
Speaking after the match, a gracious Kiefer said: "Rafa is certainly the greatest competitor.
"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."
Naslov komentara: Tennis: Nadal takes Toronto title 
Mon Jul 28, 2008 1:08 am
he was so cute there 
