Rafael Nadal ended his dismal run against Novak Djokovic by
ruthlessly dethroning the defending champion to reach the final of the
Madrid Open.
Nadal had lost seven consecutive matches - and 15 straight sets -
against the 12-time grand slam champion, but the resurgent Spaniard made
a huge statement by winning 6-2 6-4 on Manolo Santana in the 50th match
between the two greats.
The 14-time major winner has been in a league of his own on clay this
year and will match Djokovic's record of 30 ATP Masters 1000 titles if
he beats Dominic Thiem or Pablo Cuevas in his homeland on Sunday.
Djokovic, playing his first tournament since parting company with his
long-serving coaching staff, was unable to live with an in-form fourth
seed who is his firing on all cylinders ahead of the French Open.
The man known as the 'King of Clay' won both the Monte-Carlo Masters
and Barcelona Open for a 10th time before heading to Caja Magica and
defeated the Serbian for the first time since the 2014 final at Roland
Garros.
Nadal came out with the bit between his teeth, breaking to love in
the first game of the match under blue skies and pumping his fist after
breaking a startled Djokovic for a second time with a fierce forehand
winner.
A vibrant Nadal held to love to lead 4-0 with another blistering
forehand that the second seed had no chance of retrieving, but Djokovic
finally got on the board by winning the next game.
Djokovic was simply unable to contend with the home favourite in a
one-sided opening set, which the fired-up left-hander won in style with a
deft drop shot.
Nadal maintained his momentum by winning the first two games of the
second set, but Djokovic sprung into life and levelled at 2-2 when the
Mallorca native netted a backhand after being given the runaround.
Normal service was resumed when Nadal unleashed a sublime forehand
winner that had Djokovic shaking his head and forced the error to go a
break up at 3-2.
Nadal ensured there was no way back for Djokovic, grasping his chance
to serve out the match following defiance from the French Open champion
to stand on the brink of a fifth title in Madrid.
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