Novak Djokovic becomes the second player to beat Rafael Nadal in Monte-Carlo, and the first in nine years. Djokovic also wins his first title at the tournament thanks to his straight-set triumph on Sunday.
The King of Clay is no longer the King of Monte-Carlo.
Rafael Nadal’s run of eight consecutive titles at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters came to end at the hands of Novak Djokovic on Sunday afternoon. Djokovic took control right from the start then battled back from a break down late in the second set before prevailing 6-2, 7-6(1) in one hour and 52 minutes.
The world No. 1, previously two times a runner-up but never a champion at this event, was coming off impressive performances in the quarters and semis and he maintained his momentum early in this one. In fact, Nadal did not even get on the scoreboard until he served to stay in the first set at 0-5. Djokovic had a minor hiccup when he dropped serve to lose a second game in succession, but he clinched the opener with a break at 5-2 when his opponent double-faulted.
Nadal, who had also looked far from invincible against Grigor Dimitrov on Friday and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Saturday, steadied himself throughout most of set two. The fifth-ranked Spaniard broke serve for 3-2 and again for 6-5 after briefly giving back his advantage due to a loose game at 4-3.
Success, however, was short-lived every time. Nadal did not come close to serving out the set, instead getting broken at love in the 12th game. Once again playing with an edge, Djokovic did look back during the tiebreaker. The top-seeded Serb won the first two points of the decider and also the last five following Nadal’s lone point on serve at 0-2. Djokovic capitalized on his first championship point with a crushing inside-out forehand.
“I think anybody who saw my expression in the end saw that it was a very emotional win,” said Djokovic. “It’s a very joyful moment for me. I wanted that trophy badly all my life, especially in the last six, seven years that I’ve been spending my time and living here.
“I knew after yesterday’s match that I had a feeling that I had a big chance to win against Rafa if I was on the top of my game. The first six, seven games, eight games, were unbelievable. It’s the best that I can play on clay. It’s the only way you can win against Rafa.”
“It is not a tragedy,” Nadal explained. “I lost after eight years without losing here. Today, he was better than me. If you are not at 100 percent, it is very difficult to win against these kinds of players.”
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