Djokovic crushes Nadal to win Miami Masters title

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  • Crushing win: Djokovic celebrates after securing his fourth Miami crown.

    Novak Djokovic dominated world No1 Rafael Nadal 6-3, 6-3, to win his fourth Miami Masters title and record his 14th victory in 21 hard court meetings with the Spaniard.

    Djokovic is only the second player – alongside Roger Federer – to complete the Indian Wells-Miami sweep on two separate occasions and he has now taken his winning streak to 10 consecutive matches (not including his two walkovers in Miami).

    In their 40th showdown, Nadal, who was gunning for a record-extending 27th Masters 1000 title, had a strong start, forcing Djokovic to save a break point in the opening game.

    But the Serb quickly found his footing, taking the ball early and moving Nadal around the court to get his first of two break points in the sixth game with a backhand winner that clipped the baseline.

    And indeed Djokovic stormed ahead, breaking for a 4-2 lead when a Nadal crosscourt backhand sailed long.

    It was all the world No2 needed to take the first set and he then broke in the opening game of the second set to take control of the match.

    Djokovic always seemed in control of the match and by the ninth game of the set he was able to bring up two championship points on the Nadal serve. 

    The Spaniard was determined to make Djokovic serve for the victory but he was helpless as the Serb snatched the title in tremendous fashion, pulling off a reactionary half-volley to pass Nadal before falling to the ground in celebration. 

    Djokovic is now second in the all-time winners list in Miami with four titles, two short of Andre Agassi who holds the record.

    The 26-year-old has now won his last three matches against Nadal, but still trails the Mallorcan 18-22 in their head-to-head record. 

    After the victory Djokovic said: "I played a great match from the start to the end, everything was working really well.

    "Bad luck Rafa, it's always a challenge and always a pleasure to play against you and congratulations for a good week and good luck for the rest of the season.

    A gracious Nadal added: "I want to congratulate Novak and his team, he did amazing with two great events in a row, winning in Indian Wells and now winning in Miami, that's very difficult to do, so just well done."

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