Clay hero Nadal with fifth straight Monte Carlo honour (Roundup)

By Bill Scott Apr 19, 2009, 17:07 GMT

Monte Carlo - Rafael Nadal further cemented his place as the most feared player on clay as he stormed to a fifth straight title at the Monte Carlo Masters with a 6-3, 2-6, 6-1 defeat of Novak Djokovic on Sunday.

The 16th meeting between the pair ended after two and three- quarter hours with the Spanish world number 1 lifting his 23rd career clay title after sparking his final push by winning the 13-minute game which began the final set.

Nadal said that the marathon game was the key to the match.

'He was playing better but I saved some very important balls. Confidence was important, I had to fight all the time and put the balls inside the lines.

'I needed to play aggressive without mistakes,' said Nadal. 'I was very focused on the moment, that's why I was able to win.'

The victory pulls Nadal even with New Zealand's Anthony Wilding, who won five (non-consecutive) titles at the event from 1908 onwards.

But Djokovic, who failed to finish a 2008 semi-final at the event against Roger Federer, made an impression as he handed Nadal his first dropped set there since the 2006 final against Federer.

'I would look on the brighter side: I think I've played a very good match, actually one of the best I have played against him on this surface,' said the Serb, now 4-12 in the series.

'It's really unfortunate that in the certain moments I didn't play the way I was supposed to play, with a little bit more patience. I went for too much. I went for too much shots. He was just right there.

Nadal will carry on his search for more clay records when he bids from Monday for five trophys in a row at Barcelona.

The Spaniard now owns 14 Masters 1000 titles - the same as Federer - and stands halfway on 23 clay titles toward the all-time best of 45 held by Guillermo Vilas.

Nadal drew even with Briton Andy Murray, whom he beat in the Monte Carlo semis, on a tour-leading three 2009 ATP titles. Nadal stands on 29 wins this season and has a 29-1 record in Monte Carlo.