2020 ATP Monte Carlo Masters fantasy tennis: Nadal claims title 86 in another clay court victory
RAFAEL Nadal has taken out his 86th title with a memorable three-set win against rival, Novak Djokovic in the 2020 ATP Monte Carlo Masters final. The Spanish star engaged with his world number one opponent in the fantasy tennis tournament, and the pair produced some of the best tennis possible. In a match that remarkably lasted almost four hours, neither player would yield until the final blow.
Nadal started strongly with an early break against Djokovic, but then the Serb hit back with one of his own midway through the first set to level the scores at 4-4. Both players continued until the 11th game which saw Nadal crucially break and take an advantage, eventually serving out the match with a couple of brilliant deft touches and a huge winner in the 12th game. Djokovic was not going to fade away though, and he stood tall in the second set, battling away with the next highest ranked opponent to go toe-for-toe for most of the set.
Neither player would gain an advantage until the tiebreaker when Djokovic broke away to win five consecutive points and rather easily steal the tiebreaker 7-2 and level the match. Nadal had to find his best tennis again and it came with an early break in the deciding set. For most of the third set it looked to be enough as Nadal’s court coverage and defensive shot making was enough to nullify the usually flamboyant Djokovic. But just as Nadal was serving for the match, Djokovic broke back to level the scores at 5-5. Incensed by the missed opportunity, Nadal immediately returned he favour running more than 150m across two points to take a 0-30 lead and eventually win the game off his first break point chance since the opening game of the set. The world number two would serve out the match and win 7-5 6-7 7-5 in a remarkable performance.
Both players now set their sights on Barcelona where Nadal will hope to continue his run on clay, while Djokovic will aim to try and gain as many points to stop Nadal from catching him at the top of the world rankings.
FINAL RESULTS:
[2] Rafael Nadal (ESP) defeated [1] Novak Djokovic (SRB) 7-5 6-7 7-5
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