Rafa Nadal toppled Roger Federer in a three-set thriller to capture the Hamburg Masters, as the two best players in the world tuned up in grand style for the upcoming French Open.

Rafa earned a 7-5, 6-7 (3-7), 6-3 victory for his 26th career ATP singles title and third in 2008. All three this year have come on clay, a surface in which he has lost just twice in his last 110 matches.

With this victory, Rafa has taken a 10-6 lead against Federer, including 8-1 on clay and 2-0 overall this year. The two also squared off in the Monte Carlo Masters finale three weeks ago, with the Spanish sensation claiming a 7-5, 7-5 victory.

The first three games of Sunday's match went to Federer and he soon opened a commanding 5-1 lead after a break of serve at love. Rafa, though, roared back and won the final six games to take the set.

"I was a little bit tired," said Rafa, who needed three sets on Saturday to beat Novak Djokovic in the semifinals. "But it's not only the body. Mentally it is tough, too, because it was a lot of tensions yesterday, a lot of pressure. Today it was tough when I was coming on court. But later everything changed."

Rafa's momentum carried into the second set, as he broke Federer's serve in the first game. Federer, however, captured the next four games with a pair of breaks to build a 4-1 advantage.

Serving to force a third set at 5-3, Federer quickly fell behind and faced a pair of break points. He saved both, but soon again confronted another and Rafa converted to stay in the set.

Rafa held serve in the next game and won the first three points against Federer's serve in the 11th, but the top-seeded Swiss superstar steadied himself with an ace and fought back to win five straight points to hold for 6-5.

The set went to a tiebreaker and Rafa won the first two points before Federer took control by ripping off five in a row, eventually forcing the decisive set. Rafa then came up with the first break of the third to grab a 3-1 lead and it would prove to be the difference. Federer could not break back and Rafa finally closed out the match in just under three hours.

"It wasn't my best performance. If you get broken so many times there is always something you are a little bit unhappy about," said Federer. "But I think I am finding the right type of play from the baseline."

Next up for both will be the French Open, which begins next Sunday in Paris..