Djokovic on cloud nine after beating Nadal on clay for the first time to clinch Madrid title
Djokovic on cloud nine after beatingu00a0Nadal on clay for the first time to clinch Madrid titleu00a0u00a0
Novaku00a0Djokovic reflected back on a "very special day" after continuing his stunning form with his first-ever clay court victory over World No 1 Rafael Nadal in the final of the Madrid Open on Sunday.
Serbian Novak Djokovic celebrates his win over Spaniard Rafael Nadal
in the Madrid Masters final final on Sunday. Djokovic won 7-5, 6-4.
PIC/AFPDjokovic, the World No 2, made it 32 wins out of 32 in 2011 and clinched his sixth successive title of the year after defeating home favourite and defending champion Nadal 7-5 6-4 in two hours and 17 minutes.
That was Djokovic's first win in 10 meetings with Nadal on clay, while it also brought an end to the Spaniard's 37-match winning streak on the surface.
"It is a very special day for me. It's the first time I've managed to beat Rafa on clay courts," said the second seed, whose current winning streak is the second-best start to an ATP season since 1975, with John McEnroe holding the record with 42 successive triumphs in 1984.
"I played a great match from the first to the last point. I arrived at the court believing I could win and I guess that was the only way I could get a win in the end," Djokovic added.
Nadal said after the defeat: "I didn't play my best tennis and he played very well, he played fantastic at times, it was very difficult to stop him when he played his backhand. I didn't play my best in the semi-finals and final, the conditions here are always a bit more difficult but that's definitely not an excuse."
