World No.2 Rafael Nadal won the Clash of Titans' at the Malawati Stadium in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday evening, after he rallied from a set down to see off a spirited Richard Gasquet 3-6, 6-2, 6-3.
Images: Federer tames Pistol Pete
The 8,500-strong crowd witnessed a thrilling 88-minute encounter filled with extensive rallies, deft drop-shots and overhead smashes.
Gasquet, ranked eighth in the world, drew first blood when he broke the Spaniard in the fifth game of the opening set. Nadal responded in kind, breaking the Frenchman to love in the next game. But 'Rafa', as he is affectionately known, dropped the following two games to concede the first set.
Rallied by the crowd, Nadal bounced back to emerge victorious just the way he did last week when the two players met in Shanghai for the season-ending Masters Cup.
Nadal, 21, also showed the fans a different side of his game.
He said: "Usually I'm more of a baseline player and he comes to the net more, but today it was different. I tried to be a bit more aggressive and we both played some nice shots today."
Defeat failed to dampen Gasquet's mood. The 21-year-old Frenchman said: "These two days gave us a lot of great memories of Malaysia. It has been really wonderful."
Nadal added: "I want to say a big thank you to the wonderful fans here in Malaysia. I had an amazing time."
The 'Clash of Titans' is one of three events in the Malaysia Independence Tennis Festival, which also features the 'Clash of Times' a match between Federer and former World No.1 Pete Sampras, and the Malaysian Open ATP Challenger Series tennis tournament.
