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Rome - Spain's Rafael Nadal dominated his 30th meeting with Swiss rival Roger Federer to secure his seventh title in nine years at the Rome Masters on Sunday.
Nadal's 6-1, 6-3 triumph means he now leads Federer 20-10 in their series, with 13 of his wins coming on his preferred surface of clay.
Fifth seed Nadal sunk his teeth into his sixth trophy of 2013 and 56th trophy of his career.
Nadal dominated the opening set, breaking serve three times to win six straight games. Federer hit 82 per cent of first serves into court, attempted to mix up his tactics, but committed 15 unforced errors as Nadal targeted his single-handed backhand. At one stage, Nadal won 20 of 25 points.
Federer raised his game in the second set and broke a nine-game losing streak for 1-3, but Nadal was performing at close to his best. Nadal served for the match at 5-1, but was broken to love. Eight minutes later, Nadal completed his 36th win in 38 matches this year. He had committed eight unforced errors in 68 minutes.
Nadal has now won 41 clay-court titles during his career. In 2013, he has won three ATP World Tour Masters 1000 trophies, including the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells and the Mutua Madrid Open.
Nadal will now be installed as the firm favourite to gain his record-breaking eighth French Open title, beginning in Paris next week.
