Rafael Nadal beat Roger Federer 6-4, 7-6 (7/5) to win the Madrid Masters yesterday, gaining revenge for the defeat he suffered at the hands of the world number one in last year's final.

Nadal collected his 18th career Masters 1000 title, one more than Andre Agassi and two ahead of Federer.

The Spaniard now leads Federer 14-7 in career meetings with 10 victories from a dozen meetings on clay. Nadal has won six of their past seven meetings.

Nadal, who will reclaim the world number two ranking today, also swept the spring Masters events on clay with a hat-trick of trophies at Monte Carlo, Rome and now Madrid.

The Spanish champion stands 28-2 in clay finals, his only pair of losses coming against Federer.

In the women's final, unheralded Aravane Rezai thrust herself into contention as a Roland Garros threat yesterday with a stunning 6-2, 7-5 victory over Venus Williams to win the title after a week-long, giant-killing run.

The upset in just under one and three-quarter hours marked the biggest success in the career of the 23-year-old Frenchwoman, whose previous two WTA titles were in Strasbourg and Bali.

Yesterday's victory was Rezai's third major triumph after knocking out former number one players Justine Henin in the first round and Jelena Jankovic in the quarters.

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