Rafael Nadal wins record 31st Masters title, beats Kei Nishikori in final

Rafael Nadal on Sunday won a record 11th Monte-Carlo Masters title with a straight-sets victory over Kei Nishikori.

The world no. 1 recovered quickly from an early break down to win the 6-3, 6-2 in just over 90 minutes. He has now won 36 consecutive sets on clay, a run lasting since last year’s French Open.

Nadal won five of first six games and then broke Nishikori twice more in the second set to grab his 31st Masters 1000 trophy, just one more than the Serbian – Novak Djokovic.

“I want to thank all my team and my family. We had some tough moments during the last five months after a couple of injuries in a row. It’s great to have a group of great people behind me. I can say thank you very much always for being there and supporting me when I really need it,” said pumped up Nadal after the win.

“It’s always special for me to be back here, having this trophy. It’s one of the most important events of the year for me,” the Spaniard added.

Nadal came back strongly in the Monte-Carlo Masters after retiring with a hip injury during the Australian Open quarter-final against Marin Cilic.

The 31-year-old further went on to withdrew his name from Mexican Open, Miami Open and Indian Wells Masters due to the injury.