Novak Djokovic beats Rafael Nadal to reach Monte Carlo Masters final
Novak Djokovic moved closer to a fourth trophy this season as he reached the Monte Carlo Masters final with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Rafael Nadal. He will meet Tomas Berdych in the final.
Novak Djokovic moved into position for a fourth trophy this season as he reached the final of the Monte Carlo Masters with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Rafael Nadal.
Djokovic, the world number one and form player this season with titles from the Australian Open plus the first two Masters 1000 events of 2015 at Indian Wells and Miami, advanced into his 33rd Masters final with a 97-minute winning display.
Nadal, eight-time champion in the principality, played with enthusiasm but appeared to still be suffering from the lack of confidence and elite fitness that has bothered him for months.
On Sunday, Djokovic will take an 18-2 record into the final against Czech sixth seed Tomas Berdych, who deflated the finals dream of Gael Monfils 6-1, 6-4.
I’m very happy with how I played against such a tough opponent. Rafa is the all-time best on the clay, it was not an easy match
Djokovic said he needed a top performance to go through against Nadal as he won his fifth match from the past six played between the two longtime rivals.
“I’m very happy with how I played against such a tough opponent. Rafa is the all-time best on the clay, it was not an easy match,” the Serb said. “I played well, it was a relief to get this win. There was a lot of tension, it was tough to keep it all under control.