Novak Djokovic dethroned clay king Rafael Nadal on the Spaniard's home soil and maintained his perfect season when he beat the world number one 7-5 6-4 to win the Madrid Masters title on Sunday.
The Serbian second seed ground down the home favorite during many ferocious rallies to record his 32nd consecutive win of 2011, the second-best season start since John McEnroe went on a 42-game winning streak at the start of 1984.
The defeat marked Nadal's first reverse on his beloved clay since he fell to Robin Soderling in the fourth round of the 2009 French Open and denied him a third title on the red dirt in under a month after he won back-to-back at the Monte Carlo Masters and Barcelona Open in April.
Djokovic, who had never beaten Nadal on clay in nine previous attempts, now has six titles this year, including the Australian Open and the Masters in Indian Wells and Miami.