Henin beats Golovin to claim Zurich title; Nalbandian stuns Federer in Madrid

Justine Henin claimed her ninth title of the year on Sunday when she defeated unseeded Tatiana Golovin of France 6-4, 6-4 in the final of the Zurich Open. The match was a repeat of their final in Stuttgart just two weeks ago, which the top-seeded Belgian won in three sets.
Henin has now won 20 consecutive matches, stretching back to her loss to Marion Bartoli in the Wimbledon semi-finals. The last player to achieve 20 victories was Kim Clijsters who won 21 matches in 2005.
"It was a tough start for me," said Henin, who revealed she had taken a pain-killer during the match after hitting herself in the ribs on Saturday. "She played very well in the first few games and she put a lot of intensity. My legs were still feeling pretty sore from yesterday and I really needed a little bit of time to come into the match.
"I was consistent with my serve in the second set and I played very well at the end of the first, so it's good. And I beat my record of 2003 with nine titles so I'm pretty happy.'
Despite her defeat, Golovin has earned an impressive 15 victories in her 18 matches played since the US Open, taking her to a career-high ranking of 13.
She is now the second-ranked player in France, passing Amelie Mauresmo and behind Wimbledon runner-up Marion Bartoli. The opening game lasted 10 minutes as Golovin fought off three break points, and Henin also resisted a break point in the second game before Golovin broke her to lead 3-1.
Henin had looked fragile and inconsistent up until that stage, but she began to play with more confidence and conviction, and a second break left her leading 5-4.
The trainer was called to the court to bandage Golovin's left foot and to give Henin a pill, and Henin then served out the set.
Nalbandian upsets Federer. Meanwhile, unseeded Argentine David Nalbandian claimed a shock victory over world number one Roger Federer when he came from a set down to clinch his first Masters Series title with a 1-6 6-3 6-3 win in Madrid on Sunday.
Nalbandian, who beat world numbers two and three, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, on his way to the final, became only the second player since Boris Becker in 1994 to beat the top three at the same event. The Argentine, who has slipped from a top 10 slot to 25th in the rankings this season, looked out of it when Federer raced away through the first set.
But he became the first player to crack the Federer serve this week when he broke in the second set and kept his nerve to level the match before taking advantage of some uncharacteristic errors by the Swiss to claim a famous victory. It was Federer's first defeat since he lost to Djokovic in the final of the Montreal Masters in August and only his seventh loss of the year.
Federer had beaten Nalbandian in eight of their last nine meetings including a 6-4 6-0 win in the semi-final here last year, but the Argentine was the last man to beat the Swiss indoors when he won the Masters Cup in Shanghai in November 2005. The world number one appeared to be on course for another win after making his customary polished start on the ultra-fast court at the Madrid Arena.
He broke the Nalbandian serve in the fourth game after putting the Argentine under pressure with a superb backhand pass and again in the sixth with a fierce forehand drive as he wrapped up the first set in half an hour. But just as the Swiss looked as though he might run away with it, Nalbandian fought his way back into the match by breaking Federer's serve in the second game of the second set.
The match was interrupted briefly when the watering system for the courtside flowers sprang a leak, but Nalbandian maintained his concentration and withstood some heavy pressure on his serve to take the set 6-3. Federer looked uneasy at the start of the decider and gifted Nalbandian another break in the third game after two uncharacteristically loose shots that drifted beyond the baseline.
The world number 25 kept Federer on the ropes with some excellent serving and deep returns and broke again in the ninth to claim the sixth ATP title of his career and make up for the disappointment when he lost against Marat Safin in the 2004 final.