OEIRAS, Portugal -- Top-ranked Roger Federer won the Estoril Open and his first title of the season when second-seeded Nikolay Davydenko retired with a leg injury while trailing 7-6 (5), 1-2 on Sunday.
Davydenko broke Federer to start the second set before pulling out of the match.
"I have a little injury and I can't finish the match," Davydenko told the court-side crowd. "I'm sorry guys." The Russian did not elaborate.
Federer returned to winning ways in his fifth tournament played this season. It had been eight years since Federer had needed so many events to reach a final.
"It's not the way you want to win a tournament but that's just the way it goes sometime," Federer said. "It's great to win a title again and to straightaway win my first clay court tournament of the season gives me great confidence going into Monte Carlo."
Federer evened his record in clay court finals to 7-7 on a windy day. Overall, he's won 54 of the 71 finals he's played.
Davydenko came in on the heels of a title victory over No. 2 Rafael Nadal at Miami. This defeat made it 0-12 against Federer.
Maria Kirilenko beat Iveta Benesova 6-4, 6-2 to win the women's crown -- her third career title.
The second-seeded Russian broke Benesova's serve five times, helped by the Czech's five double faults. It was the third straight tournament that Benesova lost in the final.
Neither woman held serve confidently in the first set with two breaks apiece going into the 10th game with Kirilenko leading 5-4.
But Kirilenko picked her spot for a forehand winner along the line for 30-30. Benesova then shot wide to set up a first set point before rain forced an interruption.
After the 41-minute delay, Benesova, who sits 100 spots below Kirilenko in the rankings, netted from a long rally to hand the 32nd-ranked Russian the first set.
Kirilenko exploited Benesova's lack of rhythm to serve and break to love for 2-0 in the second set. Kirilenko had won 10 straight points before the 25-year-old Benesova smacked a forehand inside the line to start the third game.
Kirilenko won with her last break in the eighth game when Benesova returned into the net.
Kirilenko, 21, had easily won their only previous meeting, also on clay, at Warsaw in 2005.
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