Tennis: A gusty day on Centre Court. As the clay swirled and powdered the players and fans in a light red icing sugar layer, Spanish artistry and Dutch courage met as hopelessly unequal partners at Roland Garros.

Martin Verkerk, who pelted his way through the last two weeks, with his huge right arm and reservoirs of effort, drawing breath only to register awe at his own virtuoso performances, finally imploded.

Like a master craftsman setting about felling a giant redwood, Juan Carlos Ferrero moved around court with such speed and venom, there was little the Dutchman could do to stop his fall in straight sets, 6-1, 6-3, 6-2.

"Ferrero on clay is the best in the world. The level he plays is tough. I will never, on clay, be as quick as Ferrero and I will never be the player Ferrero is," said Verkerk.

It was a final illuminated more by Ferrero's flashing game than any swinging fortunes in play which may have excited the competitive element and once the Spanish 23-year-old had effectively negated Verkerk's serve, there was not much else for the number three seed to do except let loose his own scarifying game.

"I couldn't handle his pressure today. I had to rely on my serve and today it was not good enough. Then my game falls apart," admitted Verkerk.

Standing far behind the baseline in order to react to the heavy deliveries, Ferrero was magisterial in his shot-making precision, his light-footed speed ghostly. The combination of his rhythm and tempo throughout the two hours and nine minutes, in tandem with Verkerk's inability to land a high percentage of his first serves, ultimately allowed the winner put his own construction on the match.

At 6ft 6ins Verkerk struggled with the movement required at back court, an element Ferrero made considerably more difficult with his ability to pepper balls around the big man's long legs.

"I'm not happy, of course" said Verkerk. "At the beginning he was returning at my feet all the time. His level was unbelievably good. But I can say now I had no chance. One, three and two (6-1, 6-3, 6-2), there was nothing unlucky about losing today."

It is Ferrero's first Grand Slam triumph, having lost to Albert Costa in last year's final, when he was physically ailing and despite making it through the two weeks was far from his best.

Yesterday was far removed from that. So often as Verkerk was lunging for returns Ferrero was flashing to the ball and waiting for it, inevitably forcing the taller man to stop and sprint to the other side of the court for his next hopeful fetch.

"I was thinking if I could handle his serve, I'd have a good chance to win," said Ferrero. "Mentally today everything was perfect, even when he broke me in the second set. Mentally and physically I was strong this year. That was important."

Verkerk's first ace on his second serve of the match tipped 212 k.p.h. At that point many would have believed in the Dutch threat, but when Ferrero broke serve and moved to 3-1, there was little evidence of it being sustained as he soon wilted under the pressure with mounting unforced errors. Ferrero broke a second time before winning the set on a return winner, Verkerk's 201-k.p.h delivery pounced on and sent scorching back to the bemused server.

Ferrero had a feline quality about his game and it was the bigger player who felt his apparent strength being threatened and ultimately fracturing. A rare wobble in the second set, where a double fault handed back a service break, barely delayed Ferrero as he continued snapping back everything to take the second set 6-3.

It was now evident that in almost every service game Verkerk was under severe pressure from Ferrero's instinctive scrambling and biting returns and the humorous, self-effacing Dutchman's game simply melted down. "What?" he shrieked when told of a famous Dutch model who was watching the match. "Something good today and I don't see it."

Two breaks in the third set for 6-2 finally brought Verkerk's "fantasy tennis" run crashing to an end.

"I always believed I could win Roland Garros," said Ferrero. "Right now I think I can win more times. Only one match these last two weeks went to five sets. Now I am going to think more about Wimbledon and the US Open. I want to win another Grand Slam on a different surface."

There are many who believe that is a question of when more than if.