TENNIS:The emotions are always the same after finals. But the outcomes are rarely so weighted as they were yesterday. For Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, the French Open final at Roland Garros offered much more than the Coupe des Mousquetaires trophy and a cheque for €1 million.

On a jewel of a summer's day in Paris, Nadal sought and found his third championship win in succession and kept alive his record of never having lost on the red terre battue of Philippe Chatrier. His record now is 21 wins and zero defeats and he joins Bjorn Borg as one of only two players to have won three French titles in a row.

Federer, the world number one, had more prosaic ideas in mind and, in truth, so did the rest of the romantic tennis world, who wish to see his talent break through the doors of history.

Federer was chasing one of the few dreams he has left in the game: to win on clay and set alight the possibility of winning all four Grand Slams in the same year, as only two others have ever done, the last being the legendary Rod Laver in 1968.

Federer had already established an all-time record for appearing in his eighth consecutive Grand Slam final, breaking his tie with Jack Crawford, who had reached seven between 1933 and 1934.

But Federer openly admits to wanting this one, and as much as yesterday afternoon was about the forceful victory of the charging bull Nadal, it was also about the Swiss player's loss on clay once again.

"I don't know how I felt last year. I was disappointed, you know, for five minutes," he said bravely. "Same today. The worst is when the whole team comes up and says, 'I'm proud of you.' I'm on an incredible run yet again. I'm an experienced guy. That's not going to kill me."

Nadal's part in undermining Federer and launching his own occasionally breathtaking assault on the history books took four sets, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, and lasted just over three hours.

And for all that time he bristled with menace and power, muscles glistening in the hot sun and the sweat falling in a constant stream from the licks of clotted black hair swinging around his face.

No doubt the demonstrative, 21-year-old Nadal is a force of nature, built like no other player, but his game, though rarely far from brutal and unforgiving, is freighted also with a light touch and no little subtlety.

Frequently as the more self-contained Federer dropped shots over the net, it was Nadal's speed that got him to the ball, and when he got there he was able to unerringly find another jaw-dropping winner.

Nadal set the pace and lasted. Federer stayed with it most of the way but wilted as he extravagantly passed over too many opportunities to take Nadal's serve off him.

There Federer will look back and wonder why he converted only one service break point from 17. But there, too, he will see Nadal's face. The younger player's strength of mind equals that of his body and Federer, though he made many mistakes, cannot be held accountable for all of them.

"I felt a lot of pressure, no?" said Nadal. "There were tough moments because I was close to the win and another win was important for me.

"Sure it was important to have the first set because when you win the first set you know he has to win three consecutive sets. That's always difficult. And if I win the first set he has to run more to try to beat me.

"I am sorry for Roger because he lost a Grand Slam final," added the Spaniard. "It is never easy. So I want to congratulate him, not just for his tournament and for his season. I want to congratulate him because he lost a big chance for him to have four Grand Slams. And he is always very good and accepts the situation calmly."

Both players will now look to Wimbledon and both will be seeded by the committee so that they possibly meet in another final, this time on grass. There more records await Federer as he seeks his fifth in succession. There he will have the edge.

"I'm very excited about the grass season. Once you get on the grass, everything is in the past, you know," said Federer.

We know.