Russian Youzhny rocks Rafa’s boat

The title contest turned out to be an anticlimax for Nadal, 21, who Saturday battled for 3 hours, 54 minutes to overcome third-seeded fellow Spaniard Carlos Moya in what was the longest three-set match on the ATP Tour in 15 years.

“Rafa was not Rafa, I did not play against Rafa today,” said Youzhny, emphasising that Nadal did not play his usual game after a tiring semi-final against Moya. “I did not win today, it was Rafa who lost,” Youzhny said. “I did not expect it to be so easy. I was lucky as he just couldn’t move and couldn’t play.

Sunday marked the first occasion that Youzhny and Nadal were featuring in the final in the year’s opening tournament.

The error-prone Nadal saw his hopes of launching the year with a title in the opening week perish as Youzhny often hit winners from the baseline and also moved up to execute deft drops that left Nadal stranded.

“Maybe I was a bit tired after the long semi-final, but I lost the final because Michael played very well,” said Nadal.

The doubles title was won by Thai twins Sonchai and Sonchat , who defeated Marcos Baghdatis and Marc Gicquel 6-4, 7-5.