Rafael Nadal of Spain celebrates after winning the final of the Monte Carlo tennis open against Roger Federer of Switzerland in Monaco April 23. (Photo: Xinhua/Reuters)

    BEIJING, April 24 -- Rafael Nadal turned on the power to retain his Monte Carlo Masters title with a pulsating 6-2 6-7 6-3 7-6 win over world number one Roger Federer on Sunday.

    World number two Nadal is the only man to have beaten Federer this season and also beat the Swiss in the Dubai final last month.

    The 19-year-old Spaniard, who improved his record against Federer to 4-1, again proved too tough for his gifted opponent.

    "To beat Roger is always special," said Nadal. "Every match is different. This one was easy at first and then became really tough."

    The combative teenager has now scored 42 consecutive wins on clay which puts him third on the all-time list behind Guillermo Vilas (53) and Bjorn Borg (46).

    By winning the first highlight of the claycourt season, Nadal made clear he would be a favourite to retain his crown at the French Open starting on May 28.

(Source: CRIENGLISH.com/Reuters)

Rafael Nadal kisses his trophy after defeating defending champion Swiss Roger Federer in their final match of the Monte Carlo Open Tennis tournament in Monaco April 23. (Photo: Xinhua/Reuters)