MADRID // Novak Djokovic dethroned clay king Rafael Nadal on the Spaniard's home soil and maintained his perfect season when he beat the world No 1 7-5, 6-4 to win the Madrid Masters title last night.
The Serbian second seed ground down the home favourite during many ferocious rallies to record his 32nd consecutive win of 2011, the second-best season start since John McEnroe won 42 straight at the start of 1984.
The defeat marked Nadal's first reverse on clay since he fell to Robin Soderling in the fourth round of the 2009 French Open and denied him a third title on the red dirt in under a month after he won back-to-back tournaments at the Monte Carlo and Barcelona.
Djokovic, who had never beaten Nadal on clay in nine previous attempts, has six titles this year, including the Australian Open.
In the women's final earlier yesterday, Petra Kvitova clinched the title after defeating Victoria Azarenka, the fourth seed, in straight sets in what was the Czech's first WTA clay-court final.
Kvitova had never progressed beyond the quarter-finals in a WTA clay-court event but capped a record week by defeating Azarenka 7-6, 6-4.
The win earns Kvitova her third WTA crown of 2011, and continues the 21-year-old's impressive rise up the world rankings.
The left-handed Kvitova, who was ranked 62 in the world 12 months ago, will break into the top 10 for the first time today following her success in the Spanish capital.
Although she lost, Azarenka will also break new ground in the rankings as she will become the highest-ranked Belarusian in WTA history, moving up one spot to fourth place.
