Novak Djokovic extended his unbeaten run to 39 matches with a 6-4 6-4 victory over Rafael Nadal in the final of the Rome Masters. Nadal, a five-time title winner in Rome, was always on the defensive in the match.
The Serb is now closing in on Guillermo Vilas’s record of 46 consecutive wins, set in 1977. Djokovic, who won the Australian Open in January, adds to his 2011 list of titles, having already won in Dubai, Indian Wells, Miami, Belgrade and Madrid.
Djokovic had already beaten Nadal in three finals already this year, in Madrid, Miami and Indian Wells and has now recorded a second straight win on clay over Nadal, the king of the surface.