Djokovic dethrones Nadal in Monte Carlo

Forty-seven games and eight years later, Rafael Nadal’s remarkable run at the Monte Carlo Masters was brought to a halt by Novak Djokovic. On the court that has almost become Nadal’s backyard, the Serbian world number one defeated the Spaniard 6-2, 7-6 in a little under two hours on Sunday. Nadal was bidding to become the first male player in the Open Era to win the same tournament nine times after sweeping the clay court surface of all challengers from 2005 onward.

Before world number one Djokovic, only Guillermo Coria had beaten Nadal at the Monte Carlo Country Club. That was in 2003, when Nadal had been a professional for just two years and was ranked 109. Coria, a clay court specialist who the following year would reach the French Open final and claim the Monte Carlo crown in Nadal’s absence, was beaten in the 2005 final in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin by the precocious teenager, who would go on to become only the second player to win Roland Garros at the first attempt the same year.

Nadal’s invincibility on clay was legend: only Roger Federer, arguably the greatest player the world has ever seen, had been able to defeat the king of clay until Djokovic eroded the myth a little more on the dust of Madrid and Rome in 2011.

The Serb raced to a 5-0 lead in the first set as Nadal struggled to keep up with his blistering ground strokes

When the two met in last year’s Monte Carlo final, Nadal’s consummate 6-1, 6-3 victory brought to end a seven-match winning streak in finals in favor of the Serb. Nadal then went on to beat Djokovic in Rome and at the French Open.

But Nadal’s recovery from a serious knee injury, which began on the Golden Swing with three finals and two titles, had not yet been pitted against the world number one. On Sunday’s evidence, an eighth Roland Garros title is far from a foregone conclusion, despite a 67-1 win rate in five-set matches on the surface to embellish a staggering 270 to 21 overall record.

Djokovic, though, was in no mood to let statistics belie his own hunt for an eighth clay title in the era of Nadal. The Serb raced to a 5-0 lead in the first set as Nadal struggled to keep up with his blistering ground strokes. Although Nadal is not yet fully fit, it should be noted that Djokovic almost withdrew from the tournament with an ankle injury. There was little sign of discomfort on his side of the net though, as he sent Nadal scurrying after a series of well-placed cross-court backhands, which the Spaniard’s somewhat heavy legs could not guide him to.

Nadal saved seven set points and put a couple of face-saving games on the board but could not prevent the first set slipping from his grasp. The second provided what the capacity crowd at the Monte Carlo Country Club had paid to see as the two players traded blows in a bevy of hard-fought rallies. Serve was traded four times and Nadal began to find his range from the back of the court but Djokovic did not ascend to world number one without being able to keep his nerve, and in the ensuing tiebreak he fired a forehand down the line to seal the decider 7-1.

A rain-delayed match could not prevent the end of a reign that has endured for eight years in Monte Carlo. Nadal is set to play in Barcelona this week in search of a record eighth title ahead of the Madrid Masters in May.