Novak Djokovic managed to beat Tomas Berdych to win his 2nd Monte Carlo title and become the first man to win the opening three Masters events of the season. The world number one extended his winning run in 2015 to 17 matches after coming through 7-5 4-6 6-3 on the clay courts.
Djokovic, 27, adds Monte Carlo to the Masters titles he won in Indian Wells and Miami last month. What is more, the Serb hopes to complete the career Grand Slam with a first title at the French Open, which is scheduled to start next month.
“I think the most important period of the year is coming up right now,” said Djokovic.
“Obviously Roland Garros and Wimbledon are the priority. That’s where I want to perform my best, but we’ll take it step by step and see how far I can go.”
Djokovic had laid down a marker with victory over 9-time Roland Garros champion Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals and completed the job in Sunday’s rain-interrupted final.
6th seed Berdych provided a real test for Djokovic, despite a 2-18 record against the top seed, but two breaks of serve were still not enough for the Czech in the opening set.
In overcast conditions, and with both men complaining about the slippery court, Djokovic secured the set at the second attempt. The Serb was still not at his best and did well to recover from 0-40 at 2-2 in the second before the rain came and forced the players off court for an hour.
Another chance for Djokovic to break slipped by on the resumption, and it was Berdych who found something closer to top form as he grabbed his chance to level at one set all.
Djokovic looked on course for his 11th love set of the year when he raced 4-0 clear in the decider but Berdych pegged him back again, and the 2013 champion required two hours and 43 minutes to wrap up a hard-fought win.
“In the end, I’m sitting here with this trophy that is very special to me, of course,” said Djokovic.
“This is what matters. Sometimes winning ugly is necessary. It’s been a remarkable start of the season for me.
“The fact that now I have won three Masters in a row, that nobody ever has done that – that has given me, even this week, more motivation.”
”There have been just a couple of points that didn’t go the way that I wanted,” Berdych said. ”Otherwise I think I’ve been pushing him quite hard. I had enough chances to make this match happen on my way and I could be the one with the trophy today.”
Novak Djokovic vs Tomas Berdych, 20/04/2015, 12:45 GMT, Match Center
Monte Carlo Open: Djokovic triumphs with the title
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