Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic met for the 50th time in the 2017 Madrid Masters semi-final. It was not a memorable duel, but Nadal would take it any day, beating Djokovic 6-2, 6-4 for the first time since Roland Garros 2014! Rafa sealed the deal in an hour and 38 minutes in front of the home fans for his seventh final from nine trips to Caja Magica. Nadal ended a seven-match losing streak to Djokovic and ended his terrible streak of 15 straight dropped sets against the Serb! Nadal was the favorite after rattling off 13 consecutive wins on clay. Also, Djokovic was in his worst form in seven years, not playing well enough to chase Nadal at that point. The first set was one-sided. Rafa dominated every segment and did more than enough in the second set to score his first straight-sets triumph over Novak since Rome 2009! The Spaniard moved great, hitting the ball well from both wings and winning the rallies he had lost against Djokovic in their previous matches.
As many times that season or since Wimbledon last summer, Novak's strokes just were not there. He lacked the power or depth to drive Nadal away from his comfort zone. The Serb's shot selection was wrong on many points. He went for drop shots and found it hard to change the direction and move Nadal around the baseline or create an open space. Rafa was excellent, keeping his serve safe almost always and stepping in every time he had to win an important point, like that break chance he fended off in the encounter's last game. Of course, once Novak found his game in set number two, we saw how hard it was for Rafa to stay at the same pace. However, he did a great job overpowering Djokovic to bring the encounter home before the decider. Rafa lost 19 points on serve, playing against only two break chances and losing serve once to mount the pressure on the other side. Novak struggled with his initial shot, losing 48% of the points (he won 29 points on serve, and 11 were service winners) and facing six break chances.
He saved only two and made his loss inevitable. Nadal finished the match with 13 service winners, two more than the Serb. The Spaniard created an 18-14 advantage in the winners from the field, punching the ball with efficiency from both the forehand and backhand wing. Djokovic could not find his shots, especially in the first part, committing 21 unforced errors and 11 forced. Nadal started to miss more often as the encounter progressed, but he stayed on 15 unforced errors and only seven that Novak caused, which made the difference. For an illustration, Nadal had only three errors from his backhand while Novak counted 14, another important reason for this scoreboard! The Spaniard had a 28-22 lead in the shortest points up to four strokes. He toppled Novak 24-17 in the mid-range rallies from five to eight strokes, where the Serb is usually in a league of his own. It was 13-9 for Rafa in the most extended exchanges, another proof of how good he played and how tough it was for Novak to achieve a more favorable result.
Rafael Nadal defeated Novak Djokovic in straight sets in Madrid 2017.It was a furious start for Nadal, who broke at love in the first game with a backhand return winner. The Spaniard held in game two from 30-0 down after winning a 16-stroke rally and firing three service winners. Novak dropped serve again in game three, unable to find the rhythm and missing many balls to stay inferior in the exchanges against a determined rival. Things looked better and better for Nadal, who held at love to race into a 4-0 lead after just 17 minutes, taking 17 of the first 21 points! Novak was yet to hit a winner from the field in those opening four games, making seven unforced errors instead. Djokovic almost wasted a 40-0 advantage in the fifth game, hitting his first winner of the match and holding after deuce to get his name on the scoreboard. Rafa went 5-1 in front, picking up another prolonged rally and closing the game with a service winner to completely control the match's course. Novak saved a set point with a service winner in game seven.
He held to reduce the deficit to 5-2, playing a bit better and imposing his shots to shake the pressure off his back. Nonetheless, the Serb was powerless on the return, as Rafa opened the eighth game with two service winners and sealed the set with a beautiful backhand drop shot for 6-2 after 40 minutes. Destructed and absent, Novak opened the second set in the worst manner. He added four more unforced errors to his tally and got broken in the first game, with a mountain to climb if he wanted to turn the tables. Nadal hit three winners in game two to materialize the break and was in the driving seat to bring the match home without any trouble. We finally saw something more from Novak in game three. He landed two service winners and two from his forehand for his best game since the start of the encounter and a positive boost. The Serb found a great return winner in game four to dismiss Nadal's game point. He took two more extended exchanges to break the Spaniard for the only time and level the score at 2-2.
A backhand crosscourt worked well for Novak in that game. That was the key to putting Nadal under more pressure and making him work harder for every point. Nonetheless, Djokovic could not maintain that level, suffering a break in the next game to fall 3-2 behind in the last successful return game of the match. Nadal confirmed the advantage with three service winners that sent him 4-2 up, starting to make more errors than in the opener but still competing at a higher level than Novak. They both played well on serve in the next three games, and Nadal scored a crucial hold in game eight at love before serving for the victory at 5-4. He was 40-15 up, but Novak fended off both match points with winners, refusing to surrender. The Serb earned a break chance that could have changed the course of the duel. Nadal remained focused, though, repelling it with a great drop shot and closing the match two points later after another good attack. Thus, he advanced into the final and celebrated his first win over Novak in almost three years.
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