WRAPUP 2-Tennis-Open-Ruthless Nadal wins four in a row

To compound his misery, the 12-times grand slam champion also raked up some forgettable landmarks. The world number one became the first man to lose three finals in a row in Paris and suffered his first 6-0 set loss since June 1999.

GREAT EXPECTATIONS

Federer, looking to complete a career grand slam, had swaggered on to court with great expectations of narrowing his lopsided 1-8 claycourt record against Nadal.

On the eve of the final, he also chose to remind everyone that: "So far I've never lost (to Rafa here) in three sets."

Those words would come back to haunt him just 24 hours later.

A sense of foreboding set in within three minutes of the start when Nadal broke the Federer serve in the opening game as the Swiss paddled a forehand long.

Throughout the final Nadal leapt in the air administering his beguiling top spin, hammering the ball relentlessly into the corners and stretching his opponent to the limit.

A banner in the crowd proclaimed "Super Rafa" and it did not take Federer long to discover that he was, indeed, facing an opponent from a different planet.