Rafael Nadal who will turn 31 early next month, managed to secure a spot in Mutua Madrid Open's final in a stunning manner defeating Novak Djokovic in the semis.
The magnitude of this particular success is by far one of the biggest accomplishments the Spaniard did lately. For Rafael Nadal, the final in Madrid puts Dominic Thiem on the other side of the net with the young Austrian tennis star in a position to get some revenge after Barcelona where he bowed to Nadal's surreal force.
With such an irresistible tennis coming out of his racquet, Rafael Nadal is already on top of the list of the most likely players to win the 2017 french open.
These days, it appears that there is no other man capable of stopping him on clay.
Nadal solved Djokovic riddle after the last seven failures
The main stage in Madrid produced the 50th act of Rafael Nadal vs. Novak Djokovic rivalry. With Djokovic being down lately, the odds were all clearly in Nadal's backyard.
Having lost the last seven showdowns against the Serb, Nadal picked the best moment to demolish Djokovic. The match saw a hungry Nadal letting nothing on the table. It was a 6-2 6-4 straight set win that throws Djokovic even deeper into the dark side.
Unable to find his composure, Djokovic's pace is far from being at least decent. On the other hand, Nadal scored first win over Djokovic since 2014 French Open's final.
Within the ATP circuit, there is a certain shift in momentum having both Andy Murray (1 ATP) and Novak Djokovic (2 ATP) struggling with form and disappointing results lately.
For the Spaniard, on the other side, things are getting better and better as he is now the leading violin of the ATP Race with Roger Federer behind. The winner of 14 Grand Slam titles in men's singles, Nadal sees the opportunity for a 15th success now that the 2017 French Open is a couple of weeks ahead.
Nadal' s great shape is due to the lack of injuries
With four months and a half of 2017 done and dusted, Rafael Nadal's progress while recovering from the wrist injury has been on an upward trend, a constant wall of confidence being built along the way.
One brick over the other, one match at a time, one tournament after another eventually put Nadal where he loves being, at the top of the game.
His consistency is now as high as it can be, and the timing is perfect for tackling the upcoming French Open.
There is one more stop to be made in Rome, Italy which is the last Masters 1000 on clay of the season. Overall, Nadal seems once more in a position to dominate the game, especially when it comes to those red courts from Europe.
