Nadal ends Novak run

TENNIS RAFAEL Nadal is near his best again and he showed it with a strong win over a rival he hadn’t beaten in three years.

Nadal ended his sevenmatch winless streak against Novak Djokovic with a 6-2, 6-4 win yesterday that put him in the Madrid Open final.

Nadal converted on his third match point to earn his first win against the Serb since the 2014 French Open final.

Nadal had lost 15 straight sets against Djokovic and won only one of the past 12 matches against him in four years.