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MADRID, May 13, 2017 - Rafael Nadal snapped a seven-match losing streak against Novak Djokovic in commanding fashion as he romped into the final of the Madrid Masters 6-2, 6-4 on Saturday.
The
Spaniard looks in ominous form with just over two weeks to go till the
start of the French Open as he stretched his perfect record on clay this
season to 14-0 with a dominant display.
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Nadal will look to seal
his fifth title in Madrid in Sunday's final against Austrian Dominic
Thiem in a repeat of the Barcelona Open final Nadal won 6-4, 6-1 two
weeks ago.
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"It is a great result. To win against Novak by that
score you have to be playing very well, otherwise it's impossible," said
Nadal.
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An open era record 50th meeting between Nadal and Djokovic served to
highlight the Serb's dramatic dip in form since they last met in Rome
almost exactly a year ago.
"It was an important match for me. I lost a lot of times in a row. To break that means there are always nerves," added Nadal.
"The circumstances nowadays are completely different compared to those seven matches that occurred before.
"I think that the last two years perhaps haven't been my best two years. For Novak, they were really good years."
Djokovic had won his last 15 sets stretching back to the 2014 French Open final against the 14-time Grand Slam champion.
However,
that run was emphatically ended as Nadal, willed on by a fervent home
support including Cristiano Ronaldo in the VIP boxes, made the perfect
start by breaking the Djokovic serve to love.
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"Rafa was obviously a better player today," said Djokovic.
"He deserved to win. He controlled the game from beginning to the end."
Indeed Djokovic could only muster four points in the opening four games as Nadal raced into a 4-0 lead.
He
did salvage some pride by seeing off more pressure on his serve to at
least hold twice and force Nadal to serve out to take the first set in
40 minutes.
"It wasn't a very high quality of tennis from my side. I made a lot of unforced errors," added Djokovic.
"His quality was very high. He managed to do whatever he wanted really, especially in the first set."
- New guidance -
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Djokovic was playing his first tournament in Madrid since parting company with his long-term coach Marian Vajda.
And
on this evidence he needs new guidance as quickly as possible if he is
to defend his French Open title as two more forehand errors gifted Nadal
another break at the start of the second set.
Djokovic showed
his resistence of old to break back when Nadal netted after being
stretched out on the backhand side to level at 2-2.
But his fight
back was temporary as he handed the break straight back as he fired
wide with a backhand after a brilliant Nadal passing shot had set up a
fresh break point opportunity.
Again Djokovic's level improved as the set wore on to make Nadal serve it out.
And Nadal was forced to save a break point in the final game with a drop shot Djokovic couldn't get back over the net.
"I am humble enough to come here and say that I was nervous," said Nadal.
"Especially to go from 40-15, to break point for him, that was a very hard moment for me."
Djokovic, though, fired long with a volley on Nadal's third match point sparking wild scenes of celebration.
Victory also ensured Nadal closes the gap on Djokovic's lead in their head-to-head record to 26-24.
Thiem
booked his place in a first ever Masters series final with a 6-4, 6-4
win over Uruguay's Pablo Cuevas in a match that finished just after
midnight local time.
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Source - TheNation
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