ROME, May 11: Felix Mantilla became the first unseeded player to win in Rome since the Open Era began in 1968 by beating fourth seed Roger Federer in the Rome Masters final on Sunday.

Mantilla, who had battled through four tough matches in the tournament to make his first final of the year, beat Switzerland’s Federer 7-5 6-2 7-6 to win his 10th title.

Federer, who had only dropped one set in his last nine claycourt matches, mixed the pace of his groundstrokes to create seven break points, but wasted them all, in the first set.

The 29-year-old Mantilla then took advantage of some unforced errors in the 12th game to break serve and win the first set.

The Spaniard broke again in the sixth and eighth games of the second set to run out a comfortable 6-2 winner.

A see-saw third set went to a tiebreak, which Mantilla won when Federer smashed a forehand over the baseline.

Henin-Hardenne wins

BERLIN: Justine Henin-Hardenne survived three match points to overcome Kim Clijsters 6-4 4-6 7-5 in a thrilling all-Belgian German Open final on Sunday.

Clijsters, who squandered her opportunities to seal victory, hit a backhand wide to bow out after two hours and 15 minutes of a close battle which could have gone either way.

The pair, warming up for the French Open starting on May 26 where they promise to offer the biggest challenge to the Williams sisters, had never faced each other before in the final of a major event.

For Henin-Hardenne, seeded third in the $1.2 million claycourt tournament, victory meant she had successfully defended the title she won by beating Serena Williams in last year’s final.

By reaching the final, top seed Clijsters had done enough to regain the world number two spot she briefly lost to Venus Williams.—Reuters