Times wires
Sunday, May 8, 2011
MADRID — Novak Djokovic defeated Rafael Nadal on clay for the first time in 10 tries, beating the top-ranked Spaniard 7-5, 6-4 to win the Madrid Open on Sunday and extend his unbeaten start to the season to 32 matches.
Djokovic, ranked No. 2, squandered a 4-0 lead in the first set, but recovered to end Nadal's latest winning streak on clay at 37 and earn the Serb his third straight victory over Nadal in finals this season.
Djokovic's sixth title of 2011 allowed him to surpass Bjorn Borg's 31-match season-opening run in 1980. He trails only John McEnroe's 42-0 start in 1984.
"Probably it's right at the top," Djokovic said about beating Nadal on clay in Spain. "Under the circumstances I was playing, an unbelievable match. …I needed to be aggressive, and it was a great match."
Djokovic also defeated Nadal in the finals at Miami and Indian Wells this year.
"I came up against a great player obviously — he's having a monster year," Nadal said. "He was better, you have to accept that."
Nadal's last defeat on clay came against Robin Soderling at the 2009 French Open. He had won six titles on clay since, and this was only his seventh loss on the surface in 196 matches dating to 2005.
Nadal still holds a healthy advantage over Djokovic in the rankings, but the Spaniard said it's only a matter of time before Djokovic takes over the No. 1 spot if he keeps playing like this.
"The No. 1 ranking is not in danger — it's finished. Let's not lie to ourselves, that's the reality," Nadal said.
In the women's final, Petra Kvitova won her third title of the season, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4 over Victoria Azarenka. Kvitova will be the sixth Czech player to reach the top 10 in the WTA rankings when she jumps to 10th today.
Setting standards
Longest ATP Tour winning streaks in the Open era (since 1968):
46: Guillermo Vilas (July-September 1977)
44: Ivan Lendl (September 1981-Feb. 1982)
42: John McEnroe (January-May 1984)
41: Bjorn Borg (October 1979-April 1980)
41: Roger Federer (August 2006-March 2007)
35: Bjorn Borg (May-August 1978)
35: Thomas Muster (April-June 1995)
35: Roger Federer (June-November 2005)
34: Novak Djokovic-x (December 2010-now)
32: Rafael Nadal (May-August 2008)
x-active streak