Rafael Nadal won arguably his greatest battle yet with Roger Federer to seal an epic ATP Masters Series final in Rome and equal Guillermo Vilas' 53-match winning streak on clay.

The 19-year-old second seed from Spain needed more than five hours to see off the Swiss world number one, winning 6-7 (0/7) 7-6 (7/5) 6-4 2-6 7-6 (7/5), to also equal Bjorn Borg's record of winning 16 ATP titles as a teenager.

It was also Nadal's fourth successive victory over Federer, who has now won only one of their six meetings, with Nadal winning all their match-ups on clay.

Defending his Rome title was made all the more remarkable after Nadal found himself 4-2 down and having to rescue two match points in the deciding set. Federer even appeared to be in control of the fifth-set tie-break, but Nadal refused to yield and when his first match point came, he snatched it.

The final more than lived up to its billing as a clash of the world's two best players, although Federer looked to have the bit between his teeth early on.

For the first time in the three clay-court battles between the pair, the Swiss managed to take the opening set, in which both players exchanged breaks of serve before Federer completed a whitewash in the tie-break.

The second set also went the distance after both players comfortably held serve throughout, but this time it was the Spaniard who had the edge in the tie-break.

Suddenly it was all Nadal, and as Federer struggled to make first serves, the teenager looked almost unbeatable in his own service games, needing only one break to make it 2-1 in sets.

Federer could have been forgiven for crumbling, but he bounced back in style in the fourth set, breaking twice and surviving break points on his own serve to deservedly move level.

He also drew first blood in the fifth set and, though Nadal clawed his way back, he should have taken one of the match points that came his way at 6-5.

However, the Swiss will feel he is edging closer to his nemesis, who will overtake Vilas if he beats Tommy Haas in the first round of this week's Hamburg Masters.

Should he go on to win that title, he will also surpass Borg's record, but he may have to get past Federer first.