MONTE CARLO, 18 April 2005 — Spanish teenager Rafael Nadal swept aside defending champion Guillermo Coria 6-3, 6-1, 0-6, 7-5 to win the Monte Carlo Masters yesterday.
The 18-year-old played near-perfect clay-court tennis for three sets, becoming the youngest winner of a Masters Series title since Michael Chang in Toronto 15 years ago.
Argentine sixth seed Coria broke Nadal’s serve in the opening game, but the Spaniard surged back to give his more experienced opponent the run-around and take a two-set lead.
Nadal, who let slip a similar lead to lose to Roger Federer in the Nasdaq-100 final earlier this month, did not panic as a resurgent Coria rolled through the third set 6-0.
Coria found himself 4-1 down in the fourth set but he refused to relinquish his title without a fight, winning the next three games with his best tennis of the match.
Henin-Hardenne Edges Dementieva for Comeback Victory
In Charleston, Belgium’s Justine Henin-Hardenne put the seal on her comeback from illness and injury by beating Russian Elena Dementieva 7-5, 6-4 to win the Family Circle Cup yesterday.
The former world No. 1, playing only her second tournament after more than six months out, punched the air in delight after winning her first title since clinching Olympic gold in Athens last year.
It was the 20th tournament success of her career.
In a match of the highest standard, second seed Dementieva, runner-up at the French Open and US Open in 2004, began aggressively, pinning the Belgian well behind the baseline as she took a 5-3 lead.
