Rafael Nadal ruled the clay again with another determined display to prevent Roger Federer from making history.

Instead, it was the recently turned 21 year-old No.2 ranked Spaniard who made some at Roland Garros by getting the best of the 10-time Grand Slam champion in a near repeat performance from last year’s final- prevailing in four sets 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 for the second consecutive year over the world No.1 to become the first men’s three-peat French Open champion since the legendary Bjorn Borg, who won four straight from 1978-81 on his way to six in Paris.

It marked the third consecutive year Nadal stopped Federer from winning the one major which has eluded him. The 25 year-old Swiss Maestro had already made history by appearing in his Open Era record eighth straight Grand Slam final. He was attempting to become the sixth man to complete the career Grand Slam. Ironically, American Andre Agassi was the last to accomplish the difficult task when he cameback from two sets down in 1999 to defeat Andrei Medvedev at Philippe Chatrier court.

If Federer wants to join the exclusive group which includes Agassi, Rod Laver, Roy Emerson, Don Budge and Fred Perry, he’ll have to wait until next year much to the disappointment of a supportive crowd which chanted, “Ro-ger, Ro-ger,” throughout.

The loss was extremely frustrating for the classy champion who even passed on an NBC postmatch interview with the one and only Bud Collins. That’s when you know how much this meant to him.

The truth is he didn’t play all that well in his straight set semifinal win over Nikolai Davydenko on Friday and knew he’d have to come with a better effort. The problem was who was on the other side of the net. This wasn’t two out of three sets where he finally got Nadal at Hamburg a couple of weeks ago to snap his clay court record 81-match winning streak.

I really believed that beating him in the best three of five on this surface would be even too much for the great Federer which was exactly how it played out for a second year in a row. Nadal is so special on the red stuff that he makes his opponents play a grinding game they don’t want to get into. With so much action on the ball and higher bounces on the surface, it makes opponents play tougher shots.

That might help explain Roger’s unusually high number of unforced errors. He committed 59 which was more than double Nadal’s more controlled total of 27. Amazingly enough, more than half (14) those errors came in the opening set and it was one he pulled out which had to have a rippling affect on Federer who was unable to convert on any of the 10 break chances he had. Nadal saved 16 of 17 break points during the match.

Twice, Nadal got out of 15-40 holes and even climbed out of a 0-40 deficit. During one extended game which featured several deuces, the gritty Spaniard saved five break points before holding.
That game seemed to take the wind out of Federer’s sails. The very next service game, Nadal suddenly broke him for 4-3 en route to capturing the last four games of the set which included a second break on only his second such opportunity, punctuating the set with a crosscourt backhand winner which kissed the line.

After making almost half his errors in the first set, Federer’s play improved dramatically in a turnaround second set which saw him break for the only time in the match in the seventh game. After failing to break early in the set, he saved a break point on his serve to hold.

Encouraged by the crowd, he suddenly started getting a higher percentage of first serves in and began dictating rallies by using a lethal crosscourt backhand and some effective play at the net in which he converted at a high ratio to put Nadal on the defensive. He finally put it altogether during the seven game to pull ahead 4-3 but then had to save a couple of break points before holding. It also took five set points before he squared the match.

The aggressive play gave Federer a realistic chance at winning this but that’s when the resilient Nadal immediately turned the tables on him early in the third set to break during the second game. He took advantage of a wide forehand miss on the first point to break quickly. If there was a shot which failed Roger, it was his trademark shot which produced over half the miscues from the baseline. Nadal’s speed might’ve had something to do with it. He gets to so many shots that it sometimes forces foes to go for too much. Federer fell into that hole.

From that point, he never seemed comfortable. There were still shots of brilliance coming off his racket which defied logic but not enough consistency to threaten Nadal, who faced just one break point the final two sets. He easily served out the third set producing a strong forehand down the line which Federer couldn’t get back.

Nadal did give Federer one look to get an early 2-0 break lead in the fourth but the Spaniard erased it by winning the most important exchange of the match. It was 23 strokes long. With neither player giving an inch as they went for every conceivable angle, Nadal finally ended the point by ripping a forehand down the line which was just out of Federer’s reach, giving a fist pump. It symbolized why he won. Because he was better on those big points.

After Nadal held, he broke a deflated Roger for 2-1 and never looked back. Though Federer forced him to serve it out, he could make no impression on the Spaniard’s serve which got much stronger towards the conclusion. When a Federer forehand down the line fell long, a jubilant Nadal fell to the clay before getting congratulations from his worthy opponent at the net. He then climbed into the stands to celebrate with his family and friends including his uncle who coaches him. It was a nice moment.

Even nicer during the trophy presentation was the special appearance of former three-time French Open winner Gustavo Kuerten, who got a deserved loud reception. The classy ex-champ has battled injuries and underwent two hip surgeries last year. He still hopes to return to the tour and hopefully play at his favorite Grand Slam next year. One can only hope so.

Nadal improved to a perfect 21-0 at Roland Garros having never lost in his three appearances. Pretty amazing. He also is now a ridiculous 34-0 in best of five matches on clay. He ran his clay court record against Federer to 6-1 with just the three set defeat two weeks ago.

Federer is now 0-3 against Nadal in Paris having lost in the semis in 2005 and the finals the past two years. All three defeats came in four sets. Since two years ago, he’s 4-7 against him while posting a 199-7 record against everyone else.

One has to ponder what he’s feeling right now. He’ll turn 26 in August and you have to figure he’ll get a couple of more chances to complete the career Grand Slam at Roland Garros. But how will it be possible with Nadal in the way? This was essentially the same match as last year’s except he took the first set in convincing fashion before Nadal dominated much of the rest of it before Federer broke to force a tiebreak before falling.

Here was his reaction after the disappointing result today:

“Of course, I’m a bit sad, a bit disappointed. Eventually, if I get it, the sweeter it’s going to taste. So hopefully I’ll give myself more and more opportunities, over and over again. I know I can do it now, that’s for sure. … Bad thing - I missed too many opportunities. I couldn’t get them done, in the first set especially, and then that maybe in the long run hurt me.“

Now the scene shifts to the familiar grass which is his dominant surface which has seen him run off the last four Wimbledons during what’s been an amazing run as the longest tenured No.1 player on the ATP tour eclipsing Andy Roddick’s current coach Jimmy Connors earlier this year.

The growing question is will Federer suffer from a hangover after such a difficult loss? You know he felt he was finally going to climb that final hurdle and deliver the goods today but it wasn’t to be. He’s always been mentally tough. Now we’re going to find out just how tough he really is later this month.

Meanwhile, the classy Nadal felt bad for his opponent:

“I am very happy. “But I am really sad for Roger. He is a friend and I know he is a great champion, whether he wins or loses. … It’s a dream for me. I worked very hard to be the best.“

No question this budding 21 year-old is Federer’s best rival at this juncture. The two have separated themselves from the time being from a competitive pack which includes Roddick, Davydenko and fast mover Novak Djokovic. Also keep an eye on how Andy Murray returns from an injury which forced him to miss this event. If 100 percent, he could do some damage at the All England Club with some home cooking.

Nadal certainly has the drive to be good on other surfaces as he proved during last summer’s surprising run to the Wimbledon final before falling four tough sets to Federer. It will be interesting to see if he can take that next step this time around with two majors left.

It should make for a compelling summer.