On this day: Novak Djokovic tops Rafael Nadal to remain perfect in 2011
Madrid Open was the fourth event at masters 1000 level in the ATP calendar in 2011 and we had Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal in the title match for the third time. After winning Davis Cup title at the end of 2010, Novak was ready to conquer the tennis world and was unstoppable in the first half of the following season, winning already the sixth title in Madrid and improving his score to 32-0! Just like at Indian Wells and Miami, Djokovic managed to overpower Rafael Nadal and lift another Masters 1000 trophy, defeating a great rival 7-5, 6-4 in grueling two hours and 18 minutes, mastering Nadal from the baseline with picture-perfect groundstrokes that left the Spaniard empty-handed yet again.
Both players had to work hard in the semi-final encounters against Roger Federer and Thomaz Bellucci and they did enough to set up another big final, playing above all the others in the first five months of the season. Novak made the difference with both the first and second serve, controlling the scoreboard with a rock-solid display on the return despite being broken three times, stealing almost half of the points in Rafa's games and earning five breaks from 12 chances. Nadal stayed in touch with Novak in the shortest points but the Serb forged the advantage in the longer and more dynamic rallies, covering the court beautifully on both wings and engineering points more efficiently, especially in the closing stages of both sets.
Hitting the ball on the rise, Novak played from inside the baseline as much as possible and took time off Nadal's strokes to break the opponent's rhythm and impose his shots in the exchanges. Also, his strokes had much more depth than Nadal's and that forced the Spaniard to play from the awkward positions and commit more errors. Novak held in the opening game after saving two break points and forced a mistake from Rafa in game two to build up an early lead that gave him the confidence and momentum. A hold at love sent the Serb 3-0 up and rattled off 16 of the last 19 points to create three more break points in game four after a backhand down the line winner.
Nadal couldn't do much to stop his rival and fell 4-0 down after another forced error, powerless against the sheer velocity of Novak's shots. The match was only 25 minutes old when the Spaniard started his comeback, breaking at 15 in game five after a double fault from Novak and making a quick hold with a service winner in the next game to reduce the deficit to 4-2. Djokovic recovered instantly, bringing the seventh game home and extending his lead to 5-2, putting Nadal under even bigger pressure. Rafa did what he had to, holding at love in game eight with a service winner to prolong the set and force Djokovic to serve for it.
Novak played a loose service game and Nadal broke back with a forehand winner, serving in game ten to level the score at 5-5. He saved a set point with a service winner and another one when Novak missed a forehand, with the third set point come and gone for Djokovic when he sprayed a backhand error. Rafa finally held with a service winner and after precisely an hour we had the match alive and kickin'. Novak swiftly forgot the previous game, holding at love for a 6-5 after an unreturned serve and breaking Nadal at love thanks to a lucky net cord to grab the opener 7-5 after 68 minutes of play.
Rafa was there to compete, hitting an outstanding tweener winner to earn three break points at the start of the second set and moving in front with a forehand down the line winner. Novak broke back immediately with a backhand winner and forged the gap when Nadal fired a backhand long in game three. The Spaniard saved a break point to level the score at 2-2 and was on the level terms with Novak in the next couple of games, holding without too much trouble to lock the score at 4-4.
Every point was crucial now and Djokovic went 5-4 ahead with another backhand crosscourt stroke that forced a mistake from Rafa who was serving to stay in the match. The Serb opened that last game with two winners and a backhand crosscourt bullet gave him three match points, converting the second one when Nadal's slice landed wide and celebrating his first Madrid crown in what turned out to be one of the greatest Open era seasons that propelled him towards the legends of our sport.
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2JsegzU
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