PARIS — As Rafael Nadal made his entrance for the French Open final, he could not have looked more at home in Paris had he carried a baguette under his arm instead of a tennis bag.

The place brings out the best in Nadal. He was at the top of his game again Sunday, when he won his fourth consecutive Roland Garros title and spoiled Roger Federer’s latest bid to complete a career Grand Slam.

The victory was widely anticipated, but the score surprised even the king of clay: 6-1, 6-3, 6-0. It was Federer’s worst loss in his 173 Grand Slam matches, and the most lopsided men’s Grand Slam final since 1984.

“When I was playing, I didn’t believe the match,” Nadal said. “I feel the match has to be closer.”

The second-ranked Nadal improved to 28-0 at Roland Garros and became the second man to win four consecutive French Open titles. Bjorn Borg did it in 1978-81.

The latest title run was Nadal’s most impressive yet. He swept all 21 sets while losing only 41 games.

And he routed the world’s top-ranked player, winning six consecutive games early in the match and sweeping the final nine games.

“I can only praise him for the level of play he’s had for the last two weeks and today again under pressure,” Federer said. “To come up with a performance like this under pressure shows what a great champion he is.”

For the fourth consecutive year in Paris, Federer was trying to become the sixth man to win all four major titles. Each time he has lost to Nadal — in the semifinals in 2005, and in the final each of the past three years.

“It’s a rough loss,” he said. “I’ll try again next year.”

When Nadal closed out the victory, his celebration was muted. He briefly raised his arms and walked to the net, where he and Federer put their arms around each other.

“Today it was tough for Roger, I think,” Nadal said, “and I have to be respectful with one very good guy.”

Federer’s hold on the No. 1 ranking remains firm, even with his Grand Slam title total stalled at 12, two shy of Pete Sampras’ record. Federer’s last major championship came in September at the U.S. Open.

He’ll try to rebound from the drubbing when he begins a bid for his sixth consecutive Wimbledon title in two weeks.

“I still go out of this tournament with a positive mind-set, not with a mind-set, ‘Oh my God, I had no chance today,”’ he said. “I’m going to look forward to grass. I think the second half of the season, hopefully, is going to be better than the first.”

Federer has lost eight matches already this year, one shy of his total for all of 2007. Nadal’s uncle and coach, Toni Nadal, said Federer appeared out of sorts in the final.

“I don’t know whether he didn’t have a good feel for his shots or if he was over-thinking,” the elder Nadal said. “What I see is that he’s missing a bit of self-confidence. He never looked comfortable. Maybe it’s a mental block.”

By the fourth game, Federer was kicking the clay in frustration. By the second set, he was screaming at himself. By the third set, he couldn’t even win a game.

The last time Federer lost a set at love was in 1999, when he was not yet a top-50 player.

The only man to win more French Open titles was six-time champion Borg, who watched the final from the first row. The Swede totaled 11 major titles but was 0-4 in finals at the U.S. Open, so he could identify with Federer’s perennial frustration at Roland Garros.

“Roger’s going to be back,” Borg said, adding with a laugh, “and so will Rafa.”

In the women’s final, Ana Ivanovic won her first Grand Slam title by beating Dinara Safina 6-4, 6-3 in the French Open final Saturday.

By reaching the final, Ivanovic had already assured herself of being ranked No. 1 for the first time next week. And the Serb’s performance was No. 1-caliber against Safina.

A shaky Ivanovic played in her first major at Roland Garros in 2007 and won only three games from Justine Henin. But against Safina she was as cool as the 65-degree weather, showing hardly a bead of perspiration even as she sprinted from corner to corner retrieving shots.