Madrid defeat will mean nothing in Paris

Rafael Nadal shrugged off his Madrid Masters final defeat to Roger Federer and insisted that it will not have a detrimental effect on his bid to lift a record fifth successive French Open title.

The world number one saw his 33-match winning run on clay brought to a halt in a one-sided 6-4, 6-4 loss to his old rival in the pair's 20th career meeting.

But Nadal, who has won the last four French Open titles and has never been defeated in Paris, believes the slower, Roland Garros courts will suit him more.

"This means nothing in terms of Paris, it's a completely different surface," said Nadal, who has defeated Federer in the last three French Open finals.

"He was better than me (in Madrid on Sunday) and deserved to win, but the court was very quick and that helped him. I played too short, made too many mistakes and he made the most of that."

For Federer, Sunday's win was a timely boost in his campaign to lift an elusive French Open. His win ended a five-match, 18-month losing streak against the Spaniard, a run which included three Grand Slam finals.

MADRID, AFP