TENNIS:RAFA NADAL continued his extraordinary love affair with the Monte Carlo Masters by sealing his seventh straight title on the Monaco clay after a 6-4 7-5 win over fellow Spaniard David Ferrer yesterday.

The top seed, whose victory here last year made him the first man in the professional era to triumph in the same tournament six times in a row, showed few signs of letting his grip on the trophy loosen despite a generally scrappy display.

The “King of Clay” first broke in the third game when his compatriot netted, but Ferrer struck back immediately with his own break of serve thanks to an exquisite drop shot in the final of the first claycourt event of the European season.

However, Ferrer’s joy was short-lived with Nadal breaking next game and winning the first set before seizing the initiative in the second with a superb passing shot only to be broken in the eighth game and then hitting back for 6-5.

He leapt into the air with delight when Ferrer hit the net to seal his victory in one of the world’s most glamorous spots.

“It’s perhaps the best tournament in the world,” Nadal beamed after picking up a trophy he virtually owns. “I congratulate David on his good start to the year and wish him well. For me today is very special, to win here seven times is much more than a dream. I could never have imagined it.”

Ferrer defeated an injured Nadal in the last eight of January’s Australian Open, but this time the world number one, who beat Fernando Verdasco in the principality last year in another all-Spanish final, was too strong on his forehand.

Nadal won every claycourt event he entered last year and few would bet against him repeating the feat this season with the defence of his French Open title due next month after trips to Barcelona and the Masters events in Madrid and Rome.