Djokovic too strong for Nadal, Berdych beats Monfils

Sport360 staff 06:52 19/04/2015
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  • Eyes on the prize: Djokovic.

    Novak Djokovic overpowered eight-time champion Rafael Nadal to reach the final of the Monte Carlo Masters.

    Djokovic, the world number one, will meet Tomas Berdych in today’s final and victory will see the Serb become the first player to sweep the opening three ATP World Tour Masters 1000s of the season.

    The 27-year-old has not dropped a set on his 2015 clay-court debut this week and he was simply too good for Nadal as he closed out a comfortable 6-3, 6-3 victory in one hour and 38 minutes.

    “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. I know the final with Tomas will be a different kind of match, but I’ll do my best to recover and get ready.”

    Nadal managed an early break but Australian Open champion Djokovic levelled at 2-2 and broke the Spaniard in the eighth game to take a stranglehold on the first set.

    Djokovic’s second-set pressure told in the seventh game as he broke for a 4-3 lead and he rattled off the final two games, with only Berdych now in his way from adding the Monte Carlo title to his March Masters wins in Indian Wells and Miami.

    Sixth seed Berdych booked a spot in his fourth Masters 1000 final by ending the run of wild card entry Gael Monfils 6-1, 6-4.

    Monfils, the number 14 seed, upset world number two Roger Federer in the third round but he could not disturb the impressive Berdych as he missed out on becoming the first Frenchman to reach the Monte Carlo final since Cedric Pioline won the tournament 15 years ago.

    The Czech capitalised on 13 unforced errors from Monfils to wrap up the first set in 26 minutes and, although Berdych dropped his serve in the second game of the second set, his dominance over Monfils continued and he sealed victory in 68 minutes.

    Berdych, an Australian Open semi-finalist in January, will now be hoping to improve on runner-up finishes in Doha and Rotterdam earlier this season.

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