Djokovic dominates Nadal to claim second straight Miami Masters crown in two sets

By Mike Dickson in Miami

PUBLISHED: 15:19 EST, 30 March 2014 | UPDATED: 01:37 EST, 31 March 2014


The great carve-up of the most significant titles in tennis continued on Sunday night when Novak Djokovic produced a magnificent display to win the Sony Open title.

His 6-3 6-3 victory over Rafael Nadal meant that he has won both of this year’s Masters titles to date, and that between them they have won all nine of those events on the tier just below the four Grand Slams.

Were it not for Andy Murray’s Wimbledon crown and Stanislas Wawrinka winning the Australian Open then every significant individual trophy in men’s tennis would be the hands of either the Spaniard or the Serb.

Happy hunting ground: Novak Djokovic beat Rafael Nadal to win his fourth Miami Masters title

Happy hunting ground: Novak Djokovic beat Rafael Nadal to win his fourth Miami Masters title

Flat out: Djokovic dropped to the court after defeating Nadal for his second consecutive Miami title

Flat out: Djokovic dropped to the court after defeating Nadal for his second consecutive Miami title

Victorious: Djokovic defeated Nadal in straight sets to win the final of the Sony Open

Victorious: Djokovic defeated Nadal in straight sets to win the final of the Sony Open

What it means: Djokovic reacts after winning match point
Happy dance: The Joker jumps for joy after brushing past the world No 1

What it means: Djokovic went through a gamut of emotions after claiming match point against the world No 1

So much for the wobbling of the established order with Roger Federer regaining his place in the top four in the latest rankings, although Andy Murray will go down to eight after relinquishing his Sony title.

Djokovic, who won two weeks ago at Indian Wells, was so good against Nadal that it is hard to believe he is currently without a Grand Slam to his name.

Nadal, for whom this remains a rare title that he has never won, had no answer to the near technical perfection of the 26 year-old Serb, who has again been working at this event with his former head coach Marian Vajda while Boris Becker is laid up after hip surgery.

The Spaniard rarely loses in 84 minutes to anyone but he had no answers once he had missed a break point in the very first game, failing to make any inroads on the Djokovic serve and repeatedly thrown off balance by the incredible depth his opponent maintained.

 

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Cruise control: Serbia's Djokovic breezed by Spain's Nadal 6-3 6-3 to take the title in Florida

Cruise control: Serbia's Djokovic breezed by Spain's Nadal 6-3 6-3 to take the title in Florida

Stretched: Nadal had no answers for Djokovic in the closing match of the tournament on Key Biscayne

Stretched: Nadal had no answers for Djokovic in the closing match of the tournament on Key Biscayne

He looked flustered by the Serb’s relentless quality in every area of the game. Djokovic, taking the ball early, lapped up everything on his backhand and his serve was outstanding.

Nobody could disagree with Djokovic when he said afterwards, 'I played a great match from start to finish'.

Once the Nadal serve had been broken at the start of the second it was one-way traffic, much to the disappointment of the large Hispanic element in the crowd.

After what was, by his standards, a slightly deflating start to the season Djokovic’s resurgence of the past few weeks sets up the European summer beautifully for when the tour seriously gets going again in Monte Carlo next month.

Safe passage: Nadal and Djokovic were both gifted walkovers in the semi-finals before their meeting

Safe passage: Nadal and Djokovic were both gifted walkovers in the semi-finals before their meeting

Nadal will, as usual, be favourite for everything when he plays on clay but he has not romped through the year like he was doing twelve months ago.

Djokovic will feel that he is in a good place from which to launch an assault on the title he wants the most, the French Open, where he came so close to beating the reigning champion in 2013.

Federer is far more buoyant and back again as a threat, although the clay will be his biggest challenge.

Murray has to look for a coach that can inspire him again but will be heartened by going into the most hectic phase of the season with his back in better shape than 12 months ago.

We await to see if there will be a challenge can emerge from the chasing pack, or if Wawrinka’s stunning success in Melbourne was something of a flirtation on behalf of all the pretenders.

Ready to burst: Djokovic is surrounded by bubbles as he raises the second Masters trophy he's won in 2014

Ready to burst: Djokovic is surrounded by bubbles as he raises the second Masters trophy he's won in 2014

 

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You should know that he is a fair player,just in the previous match Novak gave a point to his opponent,also he is a good friend with Andy and Murray was not angry about Novak, neither he indicated it after the match,just the referee should judge it otherwise,it seems it was Andy s point,notwithstanding Novak would win the match anyway.

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Djokovic is back!

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Berdych should have known better than to eat chicken and rice.Was he poisoned on purpose ? After 3 days rice is poisonous and I never,ever eat chicken away from home.

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What was Djokovic on ?If anyone knows I would like to buy some of it.

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Without PED's, victories against the top tier will be fewer and fewer for Rafa.

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Djokovic took Nadal apart. My wife who's not a tennis fan, commented around half through the 2nd set, how totally relaxed Novak was, no pressure at all. Novak bossed Nadal, yes Novak was amazing, but Nadal's poor form helped him a bit. I still think of both players were at their very best, Novak would have won in straights, but not as comfortably.

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Nadal was far from his very best !!!

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Yep Nadal was far from his best, but even at his best on slow and lower bouncing HC, his best is not good enough to beat Novak. On clay and higher bouncing HC it is another game altogether.

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How can anyone support a more ignorant, rude individual, not to mention a cheat who admitted he "didn't know the rules" in his match with Murray. A hateful character who thinks the world owes him. Save the poor "Serb" story for someone else.

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Gee4, Here is the thing about Novak. He won the Miami masters, yes things went his way in the Murray match, but such was the ease he won the 2nd set, you can't say he didn't deserve to win. Novak didn't cheat, it was the umpire who made the mistake, you clearly need to learn how sport works. Novak didn't give himself the point, the umpire did. Andy Murray didn't accept it and like you he kept on crying about it and it cost him the match. He would have lost anyway, up until that point Novak wasn't even playing his best tennis and he was still going toe to toe with Andy Murray. Novak may not be your cup of tea, but he's one hell of a champion. He's won IW and Miami back to back, a feat only the great Fed has achieved. Bad news for you and the fans of every other player is that Novak has regained his confidence and it looks like he wants to go on one of those crazy streaks again.

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Offensive and Vile doesn't really cover it, so I 'd need to find out what your real diagnosis is?!!

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He won in 2 sets after having only played 3 matches the whole tournament. Hardly a grand slam people!

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Hardly a grand slam, but without any doubt a ATP 1000 event, one which all of the players want. Perhaps not as much as the US Open or Wimbledon, but they certainly don't want to make a trip there and just play to make up the numbers.

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I think Djokovic is a cheat. He played a foul shot when playing Andy Murray and should have owned up to it. I have no time for him any more.

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It's not Djokovic's job to decide to who wins the points. The umpire gave him the point, if you want to cry about decisions not being correct, then you should be blaming the umpire.

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Remember NOVAK from 2011? He is back...well done Nole!

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