Rafael Nadal Beats Kei Nishikori in 2018 Monte Carlo Masters Final

Rafael Nadal clinched his 11th title at the Monte Carlo Masters on Sunday, as he beat Kei Nishikori 6-3, 6-2 in the competition final.

After a slow start, the top seed found his groove in the opening set, and while Nishikori was playing well, Nadal found his best in the biggest moments. 

In the second stanza, Nadal upped his level again, as Nishikori was unable to establish any advantage on his serve. The 16-time Grand Slam champion eventually ran away with this one, ensuring he didn't drop a single set in the entire tournament.

Here's a recap of the Spaniard's win, as he continues to build momentum in pursuit of what would be an 11th French Open crown at Roland Garros next month.

Nadal on Top in Monte Carlo Again

The size of the challenge for Nishikori was evident in the early exchanges, as he dug deep to hold his first service game. 

As noted by tennis commentator Rob Koenig, the top seed has tended to put his foot down early on against opponents:

Having taken some confidence from that game, Nishikori went after the Nadal serve in the next, and a double fault gave the Japanese a couple of break points. He was able to seize the first, placing an excellent winner down the line to move 2-1 in front.

It was a setback that woke Nadal up. In the very next game, he was all over the Nishikori serve and broke back immediately. The Spaniard then edged in front before some crushing backhands gave him another break and a 4-2 lead in the set.

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In the next game, Nadal had to save another break point after some sloppy serving but came through. He then clinched the opener despite the best efforts of Nishikori, hammering a forehand winner down the line to wrap it up.

As noted by Bet365, at the moment Nadal is playing some of the best tennis of his career:

Nishikori held at the start of the second set, although across from him, the Spaniard was starting to improve and found a couple of exceptional winners to level up.

In the next game, Nadal found a way past the Nishikori serve once again, and suddenly the Japanese had a mountain to climb. As noted by Howard Bryant of ESPN, Nadal was finding returning pretty straightforward:

Having performed well earlier in the match, suddenly Nishikori was cutting a disconsolate figure on the other side of the net.

Nadal, by contrast, was relentless, and in the fifth game of the set, he really put the hammer down, breaking again. With unforced errors beginning to creep into Nishikori's game and a 4-1 advantage in the champion's favour, this one was all but done.

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Nishikori was able to get one more game on the board, but Nadal had a vice-like grip on the match at this point and wrapped up the final in routine fashion.

It was another incredible display from the man known as the King of Clay. Unfortunately for Nishikori, the two players are on course to face each other in Round 2 of the Barcelona Open next week.