Rafael Nadal falls short in Sony Ericsson Open final

Rafael Nadal loses to Novak Djokovic

Rafael Nadal won the first set but was not able to fend off a comeback by Novak Djokovic, who won 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) in the Sony Ericsson Open. The Serb also won the tournament back in 2007.

Djokovic extended his winning run to 26-0, including 24-0 this year. He had already won the Australian Open, Dubai, and the Indian Wells Masters tournament where he also defeated Rafael Nadal in the final.

The Serb eliminated Mardy Fish 6-3, 6-1 in the semifinals of the Sony Ericsson Open. Nadal meanwhile reached the final by beating rival Roger Federer 6-3, 6-2.

"It's the best four months in my life, but it's only the start of the season," Djokovic said after the match. "If I want to have that shot at the No. 1 ranking I need to play consistently well throughout the whole year."

Top-seeded Rafael Nadal agreed that Djokovic may replace him at the top spot soon given his recent form.

"I was there fighting until the last point," Nadal said. "He will be No. 1 in the next month, month and a half, two months. I don't know. It depends on my results on clay."

Rafael Nadal is at the top of his game when playing in clay tournaments. He has won the French Open, which is the only Grand Slam tournament played on clay, five times in his career, including last year.

The record for the most consecutive wins on clay is 81 wins from April 2005 to May 2007 held also by Rafael Nadal.

Posted by Andre Monohan on Monday April 04 2011, 4:01 AM EST. Ref: Bloomberg. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0