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| Nadal stretching for a forehand. Photo: Reuters |
Nadal's reign on the red dirt courts of Monte-Carlo is unprecedented in tennis. Since he entered the tournament for the first time in 2005, his unbelievable match record is an undefeated 42-0.
With the victory, Nadal earned his record 20th ATP Masters 1000 title, giving him one more Masters shield than rival tennis great Roger Federer. Even more importantly for Nadal, the Spaniard's win on Sunday snapped a seven match losing skid against Djokovic, the world's top-ranked player.
The 6-3, 6-1 scoreline in the final was impressive, and Nadal's play was solid throughout the match. In classic clay court grinder style, Nadal ran Djokovic all over the court, and he broke the Serb's serve five times in two sets. His energetic, aggressive, and consistently high level play on Sunday looked a lot like...old Nadal.
Having said that, before we re-install Nadal on his clay court throne, there are two important asterisks that should appear next to Rafa's tournament results.
