Novak Djokovic will carry his season-long 37 match win streak with him to Roland Garros later this month after beating Rafael Nadal for the fourth time in 2011, the latest a 6-4 6-4 triumph to claim his seventh title of the year today at the Internazionli d’Italia.
Djokovic claimed his fourth Masters 1000 event of the season, and became just the second player to beat Nadal in four consecutive matches. Combined with his two wins to lead Serbia to its first-ever Davis Cup championship last November, the No. 2 ranked Serb has now won 39 matches in a row. Djokovic will eclipse John McEnroe’s record of 42 straight wins to start a season by reaching the finals at the French Open.
The start of the match, delayed several hours because of rainy weather in the Italian capital, was the tennis equivalent of a heavyweight boxing match, with both players slugging the ball relentlessly from one side of the baseline to the other.
Neither player wavered until the latter stages of the first set. After Djokovic was unable to serve out the set at 5-3, he again pressured the Spaniard’s serve with aggressive returns, and when given a short ball on set point the Serb made no mistake in blasting a crosscourt backhand winner.
One of the keys to Djokovic’s success during his streak has been his ability to turn defense into offense. His movement around the court has been unmatched. Tonight was no different--no matter where Nadal would place the ball or how much heavy spin he would apply, Djokovic always seemed to be in the right place at the right time. Nadal was forced to play perfect shots to get his opponent out of position, and most often would watch as Djokovic returned balls back over the net that would be clear winners against other players.
Nadal did his best to fight back in second set, energizing himself with fist pumps and shouts of “Vamos” after winning points. At times the crowd responded with equally loud chants of “Nole Nole,” referring to the Serb’s nickname. But each time it appeared Nadal may be able to get his nose in front, Djokovic would slam the door. After serving for a 5-4 advantage, Djokovic won three consecutive points to earn the first of the four championship points he would need to put an end to the match after two and a quarter hours.
Djokovic committed ten more unforced errors than his opponent, mostly because he was going for much more on his shots. Every ball that landed short was promptly smacked away for a winner--Djokovic finished the match with 26 winners, eleven more than Nadal.
Djokovic won for the eleventh time over Nadal in twenty-seven matches in what has quickly surpassed Federer-Nadal as the marquee rivalry in men’s tennis. The two will be the overwhelming favorites to meet again in the final at Roland Garros, this time with the season’s second Grand Slam, and the number one ranking, in the balance.
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