ROME, May 16 (AFP): Novak Djokovic took his unbeaten start to 2011 to 37 matches as he stunned world number one Rafael Nadal 6-4, 6-4 to win the Rome Masters.
Yesterday was the fourth time in a row the Serbian has beaten Nadal in a Masters final this season and the second successive week he has done so on clay after winning in Madrid.
Djokovic has won all seven tournaments he�s played this year, including the Australian Open, and must surely now be considered the favourite going into the French Open which starts next Sunday.
The world number two, who lost all of his eight previous matches on clay against the Spaniard before his Madrid triumph, is also homing in on Nadal�s top ranking.
He played some wonderful tennis on Sunday.
At 3-3, 30-15, Djokovic found an impossible angle to hit a forehand winner and secured that game after running Nadal all over the back of the court, the Spaniard netting a backhand on the stretch. That seemed to galvanise the Serbian and a wild Nadal forehand gave up a double break point in the next game.
Incredibly he then took his eye off a routine backhand and clipped the ball off the rim and into the skies to hand Djokovic a 5-3 lead.
But it is not for nothing that Nadal had already won here a record five times. After a long crosscourt exchange between Djokovic�s forehand and Nadal�s backhand, the Serbian netted when trying to go down the line and Nadal broke back.
However, a netted backhand from the Spaniard brought up set point in the next game and Djokovic stepped up into the court to swipe away a crosscourt backhand winner.
