Rafa Nadal wins record 11th title in Monaco
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Updated 22/04/2018 at 16:16 GMT
Rafael Nadal maintained his world number one status with a comprehensive 6-3 6-2 victory over Kei Nishkori in the final of the Monte-Carlo Masters, a record 11th title in Monaco for the Spaniard.
Spain's Rafael Nadal holds up the trophy as he celebrates his win over Japan's Kei Nishikori in their final match at the Monte-Carlo ATP Masters Series tournament on April 22, 2018, in Monaco.
Image credit: Getty Images
Nadal has been in blistering form throughout the tournament, hammering Dominic Thiem and Grigor Dimitrov in the quarter-finals and semi-finals respectively.
The Spaniard was actually broken in the third game of the match by Nishikori, who was playing in his first Masters final since 2016 but he immediately broke back, held and then broke again as he took control.
In the second set Nadal stepped up a gear and Nishikori couldn’t live with him as the French Open champion broke him twice more for his 11th title, breaking his own record of 10.
Incredibly, Nadal has won 36 sets in a row on clay and is firm favourite to win at Roland-Garros for the 11th time.
His victory also means that he will keep his number one ranking with rival Roger Federer electing to skip the clay court season.
"I knew it's going to be tough to maintain my level because he gives me all the balls back," said Nishikori afterwards.
"It's not easy to dominate the point with Rafa all the time. I knew it's going to be tough even though I was up a break.
"I was kind of out of gas, especially in the second set. How he plays... He makes every shot. He makes it tough. I think he was also playing great tennis. It was not easy to maintain my level until the end today."
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