Novak Djokovic continued his recent mastery of Rafael Nadal on hard courts, winning 7-6 (5), 6-2 on his sixth match point Saturday to reach the BNP Paribas Open final for the third straight year.
Djokovic extended his advantage over Nadal on hard courts to 18-7, winning the last seven times since Nadal beat him in the 2013 U.S. Open final. Djokovic also owns a 25-23 edge in the longest running rivalry in the Open era, having won six straight meetings and 10 of the last 11.
"I managed to stay composed and serve well in important moments and just believed that I can win," Djokovic said.
Nadal, a three-time winner here, came up short in making his 100th career singles final with his second loss to Djokovic this year. Djokovic won in the final at Doha in January. Nadal hasn't won a title on hard courts since 2014 in Doha.
"Today was closer than the last couple of times against the best player of world, so was a very positive week for me," Nadal said. "If I am able to play weeks in a row at this level, then you start to think about the chances to compete for everything."
Djokovic and Nadal traded service breaks in the first before Djokovic held to force the tiebreaker.
"I just served well and hung in there," Djokovic said. "I made him play an extra shot."
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