Djokovic beats Nadal in Key Biscayne

KEY BISCAYNE, Florida (AP):

Novak Djokovic won his fourth consecutive tournament yesterday, beating top-ranked Rafael Nadal 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4) in a gruelling final at the Sony Ericsson Open.

Djokovic has won 26 consecutive matches since December and his record of 24-0 in 2011 is the best to begin a year since Ivan Lendl started 25-0 in 1986.

The No. 2-ranked Djokovic was pushed the distance by Nadal on a sunny, 85-degree afternoon. They played for nearly 3 1/2 hours and it was Djokovic who looked fresher at the finish.

"It was such a close match,' he said. "To win against the No. 1 player of the world in a tiebreak in the third set, it's just incredible."

He pulled a forehand winner cross-court on the final point for his second Key Biscayne title. He also won in 2007.

Djokovic beat Nadal in the final at Indian Wells two weeks ago and is 8-0 against top-10 opponents this year. He's the first man to win Indian Wells and Key Biscayne back to back since Roger Federer in 2006.

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As the victories mount, his popularity rises. Djokovic seemed to have at least half the record capacity crowd of 14,625 in his corner. Fans frequently chanted "No-le! No-le!" - his nickname. In response came chants of "Ra-fa! Ra-fa!"

Djokovic fell behind early, losing his serve for the first time in the tournament. Twice he smashed his racket, but he gradually climbed back. Both players held throughout the final set and it finally swung Djokovic's way when Nadal double-faulted for the sixth time to fall behind 3-2 in the tie-breaker.

Djokovic won the next three points as well, and the exchanges left a weary Nadal bending over as he tried to recover.

"This is one of the best matches I've played in a while," Djokovic said. "I was able to find my rhythm at the end of the first set, and then throughout the whole second and third set I played quite well, especially on my service games."