World No.5 and four times Madrid Open champion Rafael Nadal ended a three-year, seven-match losing streak against World No. 2 Novak Djokovic to qualify for the final of the Madrid Open.
The Spaniard, 30, won 6-2 6-4 to claim his first victory over the Serb since the French open final in 2014.
Rafa improved his record on clay this year to 14-0 and will face Austrian Dominic Thiem , who defeated Uruguay’s Pablo Cuevas 6-4 6-4, in Sunday’s final.
That performance  confirmed his return to form  as this was his long awaited triumph over Djokovic, his 24th in 50 career meetings.