Nadal in sublime form as he masters Verdasco in final

Nadal was in awe-inspiring form as he easily dispatched Verdasco 6-0 6-1 in one hour 25 minutes to win his sixth consecutive Monte Carlo title.

It was by no means a poor performance from the sixth seed, who beat world No 2 Novak Djokovic in Saturday's semi-final, but he could find no answer to Nadal's supremacy.

Verdasco had never beaten his compatriot in nine previous meetings and was certainly the underdog on Nadal's favoured surface but no one could quite have expected the master-class the clay-court specialist doled out.

There were ominous signs from the off as Nadal broke Verdasco to love in the first game, taking the first six points of the match before the 26-year-old managed a moment's respite.

Nadal was in imperious form and took the second game with a stunning backhand. Verdasco hit a return into the far corner which against anyone else would have surely been a winner but Nadal somehow managed to get down to it and sweep a cross-court shot just over the net.

There was just no stopping the second seed as he went on to take the next four games and the set.

Verdasco was obviously feeling the pressure in his first Masters 1000 final and things went from bad to worse for him after the fifth game when he called for a three-minute injury time-out for treatment on his neck and back.

The break had little effect on Nadal as the former world No 1 earned two set points with a powerful smash and served out to take the set in just over half an hour.

The second set started better for Verdasco as he managed to save three break points before winning his first game of the match.

But that was to prove the only game he won as the world No 12 was broken once more on his next service game when Nadal returned a volley with a brilliant cross-court shot.

It was just not Verdasco's day and that was proven in the sixth game of the second set when first he wasted two break points before being taken to deuce and playing perhaps one of the greatest points of his career but to little avail.

In a brilliant rally, both players managed to get to a series of improbable returns before one eventually proved just too much for Nadal and Verdasco fell to his knees, punching the air in celebration.

However, that point was to mean little as another break point was squandered before Nadal took the game.

And the 23-year-old broke Verdasco yet again, closing out the match with a forehand down the line.

It was the third time in this year's tournament that Nadal had won a match dropping just one game.