Nadal the master again

Rafael Nadal secured his fifth consecutive Monte Carlo Masters title with a 6-3 2-6 6-1 victory over Novak Djokovic.

World number one wins fifth straight title

Rafael Nadal won a record fifth straight Monte Carlo Masters with a 6-3 2-6 6-1 win over Novak Djokovic in the final on Sunday. Djokovic levelled the match when he comfortably took the second set but Nadal came back to win the third despite facing break points early on. The Serb had not beaten Nadal in any of their previous six meetings on clay but started the stronger and secured the first service break of the match. However, Nadal responded quickly with a break of his own before going on to close out a straightforward first set. The third seed did not fold and broke Nadal's serve in the opening game of the second set after a dramatic and tense rally.

Chances

The defending champion had a chance to break back in the fourth game but Djokovic held his nerve and saved his serve before going further ahead as Nadal once again faltered on serve. Djokovic served out the set with an ace and went into the decider with the momentum firmly behind him. He had Nadal in trouble during the first game of the final set but could not convert his break point chances and the multiple grand slam winner saved himself with a brilliant passing shot. Nadal then broke at the first opportunity to swing the match in his favour when a Djokovic shot hit the net chord and bounced long. The 21-year-old Serb did manage a break in the next game but failed to consolidate it as Nadal won the third consecutive match against serve. Djokovic's challenge was finally extinguished when he was broken again after facing a love service game from Nadal and the Spaniard then sailed towards another Masters Series title.