Spain's Rafael Nadal jubilates after defeating Switzerland's Roger Federer in the men's final match during the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, Sunday June 11, 2006. Nadal won 1-6, 6-1, 6-4, 7-6.

PARIS — Maybe what Roger Federer needs to beat Rafael Nadal is a change of scenery.

Bring on the grass.

The lawn tennis season begins this week — just the thing to put a little spring back in Federer's step. He'll start preparing for Wimbledon by playing in Halle this week after losing to Nadal in the French Open final Sunday.

It was a wrenching loss for the top-ranked Federer, who was bidding for his fourth consecutive Grand Slam championship. Instead, Nadal won his second successive French Open title by beating Federer for the fifth time in a row, 1-6, 6-1, 6-4, 7-6 (4).

Nadal extended his record clay-court winning streak to 60 matches.

"He's tough to beat, but he's not impossible to beat," Federer said. "That's a big difference. Otherwise, we wouldn't have to play. He can just lift the trophy on the first day."

The Spaniard is most vulnerable on grass, the surface he has played the least. Last year, after winning his first Grand Slam title at Roland Garros, he lost in the second round at Wimbledon.

"Sure, I want to play good on grass," Nadal said. "But I need to improve a little bit to enjoy it more."

When Wimbledon starts June 26, Federer will be a heavy favorite to win the title for the fourth year in a row. Whether he can solve Nadal on clay is more problematic.

Federer is 0-4 this year against Nadal, with three of those matches on clay and one on hard court, and 44-0 against everyone else. The French Open remains the lone major event Federer has yet to win.