Roger Federer proved yesterday that he can beat Rafael Nadal on clay. Maybe next time he will do it.

The relentless and remarkably poised Nadal stole a victory from the world’s top-ranked player, saving two match points in the final of the Rome Masters to win 6-7(0), 7-6(5), 6-4, 2-6, 7-6(5) in five hours and six minutes. Nadal trailed 4-1 in the fifth set and 5-3 in the final tiebreaker before he hit one last overwhelming forehand that Federer returned long. The victory put him in select company: The 19-year-old Spaniard matched Guillermo Vilas’s record 53-match winning streak on clay, set in 1977, and matched Bjorn Borg by winning his 16th title as a teenager. He can surpass Vilas’s mark with a win over Tommy Haas in Hamburg, Germany, this week.

Nadal has beaten Federer in five out of six meetings and four straight, including three this year (Federer’s only three losses). Yesterday’s was the most spectacular, as Nadal looked doomed at 5-6, 15-40 in the fifth set before Federer flinched with the match on his racket, missing two easy forehands to allow Nadal to draw even. When Federer’s final shot sailed long, Nadal dropped to his back and rolled in the clay, a champion in Rome for the second straight year and now without doubt among the best clay court players the game has ever known.

Nadal did not change his tactics from the last time the two men met, three weeks ago in Monte Carlo: Hit as many forehands as possible, spin balls high over Federer’s backhand shoulder, and run, run, run. When Nadal gives chase, no angle is too sharp, no ball too far away. He tracked down drop shots, forehand drives, and sliced volleys all afternoon, and only seemed worse for the wear for a few moments early in the fifth set. When pressured, he responded by striking his forehand aggressively, hitting 25 winners from that wing, the same as Federer.

Federer revealed further refinements to the attacking strategy that worked off-and-on in their last meeting, when he lost in four sets. He approached the net just as often and was even more successful, volleying better, perhaps, than in any contest of his career. This was especially true on the backhand side, which produced several stupendous shots, including a couple of cross-court angles that began below the net, and one remarkable backhand overhead, after a full jump, late in the fifth set. He also hit his backhand with more authority and more consistency, committing 31 errors on that stroke compared to 41 in Monte Carlo (in four sets, not five).

Against anyone other than Nadal, the strategy would have produced a win. Federer controlled the first two sets and should have won both of them. After trading breaks with Nadal in the first set, he seized control of the tiebreaker with a forehand volley and an ace for a 5-0 lead. The second set was the least compelling of the match, as both men lost few points on serve and left little room for the other to do anything extraordinary (save a between-the-legs shot by Nadal in the first game). The tempo improved as the set neared its end, and Federer took leads of 4-2 and 5-4 in the tiebreaker. At 5-5, he made a costly error when he missed a short reply from Nadal. Facing a 6-5 deficit, Federer then netted a backhand passing shot despite plenty of time to line it up.

Nadal sparkled in the third set and was on the verge of an early break in the fourth before Federer righted himself. The Swiss then began to dominate, pushing Nadal further and further behind the baseline and cracking forehands every time Nadal hit the short, high-bouncing returns he too often hits when relying solely on his defensive skills. Federer dictated play until the match was his to take.

And then he lost it, as much as Nadal won it. No matter the score, one can never expect Nadal to quit: He may not have the range of shots that Federer has, but in terms of spirit and tenacity he is every bit Federer’s equal, if not his superior. Trailing 4-2, Nadal ran to the baseline to return serve. He bounced side to side and steeled himself for a fight. He let his forehand fly and his fists pump. He even overcame a double fault (the only one of the match by either player) that put him in a 0-30 deficit at 5-6. When he fell behind 15-40, he did the only thing he could afford to do – play safe and hope Federer would miss. As luck would have it, he did.

All this is to say that Nadal escaped by way of a miracle. Federer, unbeatable on grass and near-so on hard courts, has caught up to the best clay-court player in the world. Now the question is whether he can pass him at the upcoming French Open and put himself on course for a calendar-year Grand Slam.

“I already knew after Monaco I was extremely close,” Federer said. “This is another step closer because I got even closer to a win today than back then. I’m on the right track.”

The character of these two matches, and statistics from them, point toward Federer finally solving Nadal. His approach shots and volleys were much better yesterday; Nadal rarely put a ball by Federer at the net, despite some of the best passing shots in the game. In Monte Carlo, Nadal attempted 31 passes and made 13 of them. Yesterday he attempted 39 and made only nine.

Nadal still got the better of Federer at the baseline, but Federer’s improvement was significant. In Monte Carlo, Federer played 179 points at the baseline and won 65 of them (36%), according to ATP Tour data. Yesterday he played 206 and won 85 (41%). Nadal’s winning percentage, meanwhile, dipped from 51% to 47%. Federer returned Nadal’s difficult left-handed serve quite well, even though Nadal had a phenomenal (and statistically unlikely) day with his serve. The Spaniard typically makes about 70% of his first serves, but yesterday he made 85%,winning 69% of those points. Federer served well, too (62% in play and 77% of those won) but more in line with his averages.

If one sees the French Open as the ultimate goal, and Federer clearly does, then there’s no need to be distraught after witnessing such a painful loss. After three defeats to Nadal on clay in his career, Federer is ready for a change.