Juan Carlos Ferrero showed that Gustavo Kuerten can be beaten on clay to prove to the Brazilian he will not just have to turn up if he wants to win a third French Open title later this month.

The 21-year-old Spaniard handed the top-seeded Brazilian a rare loss on clay on Sunday, rallying from two sets to one down deficit to post a 3-6 6-1 2-6 6-4 6-2 victory in the final of the Masters Series event in Rome.

In the only previous meeting between the players, it was Kuerten who pulled out a comeback victory in the semi-finals at Roland Garros last year.

Then, Ferrero was up two sets to one and leading 3-1 in the fourth before Kuerten came back to win in five sets.

Nicknamed 'El Mosquito', Ferrero's win today gave him a first career Masters Series title and made him the first player this year to win four titles, moving ahead of Kuerten and Andre Agassi.

It was significantly his third clay-court title of the year and only Kuerten and Andre Agassi look as good bets to claim the French crown.

Ferrero's win earns him £275,000 and extends his match winning streak to 11 after his title win in Barcelona a fortnight ago.

Kuerten's defeat was his second in a row in the Rome final and means he drops to 24-2 on clay this season.

He had not lost an ATP match on clay since winning at Roland Garros, but fell to Australia's Lleyton Hewitt in the Davis Cup in February.

Like Ferrero, 24-year-old Kuerten was also looking for back-to-back titles after capturing the Tennis Masters Series event in Monte Carlo three weeks ago.