Rafael Nadal in action against Dominic Thiem in the final of the Madrid Masters.
Djokovic led the head-to-head 26-23 and the Serb was on a seven-match winning streak, indeed an 11-12 run, against Nadal, and what's more, he had won their last three on clay.
Spain's Rafael Nadal celebrates with the trophy after the men's final against Austria's Dominic Thiem at the Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Spain, May 14, 2017.
The "king of clay" is unbeaten on his favourite surface this year, and took his record to 15-0, as he added to the titles he has recently collected in Monte Carlo and Barcelona.
It feels ironic that the only times that Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem have ever met is on clay, with only one win for the young Austrian in Buenos Aires previous year.
Nadal has just dropped one set at the Madrid Open so far, in his first match against Italian Fabio Fognini.
It was clear from the pair's respective entrances that Thiem would be fighting the Madrid crowd as well as Nadal on Sunday, with the Magic Box bellowing for the latter while his Austrian foe hardly produced a cheer. "I think I already had worse weeks in my life than this one".
Sunday's victory could have a significant impact on Nadal's French Open chances as it has moved him past Federer in the rankings, into the top four, which means he could get a more favourable draw as a top-four seed in Paris, avoiding potential quarter-finals against the likes of Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray.
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"I think he played a very good match in Barcelona".
"I don't want to go too hard on my wrist", the Japanese player said. Thiem broke first for a 2-1 lead, blocking a backhand volley that Nadal couldn't track down. Thiem saved two championship points to hold for 4-5 and then earned four break points against Nadal's serve in the next game.
The victory also moves Nadal above Roger Federer to fourth in the world rankings.
"I tried my best. I really enjoy these tournaments", Nadal said.
"He deserved to win", said Djokovic. "To win against Novak by that score, you have to be playing very well, otherwise it's impossible".
It doesn't seem like anybody who's been playing in these tournaments can beat Nadal, in fact, he's only lost two sets in the three tournaments that he's won.
Milos Raonic and Marin Cilic are both seeded higher than Goffin in the top half but their big serves were better suited for Madrid and I'll happily back the retrieving skills of the Belgian ahead of those two in these conditions. Rafa reminded us how he used to play 10 years ago when he set many records on this turf and was practically untouchable. "Of course, things are working out, and I'm very happy for that".
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