We have been here before and, in all likelihood, we will be again. Rafael Nadal was atop another dust-caked podium yesterday, chewing on the cup, with Roger Federer a subservient stride to one side, clutching the runner's-up tray and wondering whether he can convince himself that he will ever truly enjoy the Spaniard's measure on red clay.

Of their eight matches on this texture of torture, Federer has won once, in the final in Hamburg 11 months ago, which was supposed to be a defining moment in their rivalry. In Paris three weeks later and again yesterday on Court Central of the Monte Carlo Country Club, normal service was resumed when Nadal became the first man since Anthony Wilding, of New Zealand, before the First World War, to win this prestigious title four times in succession.

In claiming his 7-5, 7-5 victory, the 21-year-old overturned a 4-0 lead for Federer in the second set, something no other player on any other surface could achieve. They would be happy to take a game from the world No1 and avoid the dreaded love set, but Federer knows a four-game advantage offers scant protection on clay against Nadal and, as such, he attempts to force the issue - and, usually, his game unravels.

Amid a barrage of 11 points in a row for Nadal, when the tide of the match irreversibly turned, Federer lost serve for the second time in succession, missing one forehand with three quarters of the court at his mercy, clipping the top of the net with the next, which skewed the ball over the baseline, then shunting a backhand into the tramlines. When mistakes fly from Federer's racket, they often arrive in a flock.

Nadal has railed against the inconvenience of four successive weeks on clay with only one more week to recover before the French Open - in which he will attempt to repeat the Monte Carlo foursome - but, in truth, he loves to be out there, grinding away, whipping into his ferocious forehands and unsettling backhand slices. Most of all, he thrives on these occasions, when the crowd is urging Federer to offer serious competition but secretly sensing that he cannot do so.

Federer should have been out on his ear on Day 1, when he trailed 5-1 in the final set to Rubén Ramírez Hidalgo, so he can look on his week's workout as a good deal more match practice than he ought to have had. The Swiss said that he could have played seven sets yesterday had it been necessary - there is a masochistic streak in him - that he did not tire at any time and that, playing only seven hours rather than the 20 he would need generally to complete a grand-slam tournament, was “peanuts”. This final, in one hour and 43 minutes, came with a liberal sprinkling of salt.

“It takes a lot for me to be disappointed,” Federer said. “I'm coming back strong. I'm happy the way things are now, whereas maybe a few weeks ago, there was a little bit of doubt. The amount of times I got broken today [six] wasn't what I was hoping for, but I was able to break him on several occasions [three]. My attacking game didn't work as well as in the past against him, but that can happen. I'm awfully close. He's improving; so am I.”

Not content with his singles crown, Nadal was showered and changed within half an hour and, with Tommy Robredo, his compatriot, lifted the doubles title for good measure, defeating Mahesh Bhupathi, of India, and Mark Knowles, of the Bahamas, 6-3, 6-3 to become the first player in 18 years to win the singles and doubles in the same tournament. Jim Courier, in Indian Wells in 1990, was the last. Nadal will be in Barcelona this week, where Andy Murray, the Great Britain No1, has a first-round bye.