The Serbian player continued his impressive start to the season and extended his 2011 record to 32 consecutive wins. In doing so he put an end to world number one Nadal's winning run on clay that began in 2009.

Nadal found the inspired play from his opponent too much to contend with and although it was an evenly contested match, Djokovic came out on top in crucial moments throughout.

After forging a 4-0 lead in the first set Djokovic found himself pegged back by Nadal and from 2-5 down the Spaniard managed to draw level, much to the delight of the home crowd.

From there Djokovic held his own serve confidently before breaking Nadal to take the set, albeit with the help of a lucky net cord on set point.

The second set was a tense affair with some thrilling tennis for the packed stadium. Nadal broke at the start of the second in a game which saw the Spaniard baffle Djokovic with a between-the-legs lob landing past the Serb just inside the baseline to which the crowd responded to rapturous cheer and applause.

Djokovic was not flustered and kept up the pressure and broke back moments later. The two players enthralled the crowd and with Nadal serving to stay in the match at 4-5, Djokovic pounced and raced to a 40-0 lead. The final point saw the Serb force a defensive shot from Nadal after a pulsating rally and when the ball landed inches wide Djokovic looked to his camp and held his arms aloft in sheer delight.

"Unbelievable," said Djokovic after the match. "I stepped onto the court today believing I could win. I needed to be aggressive and it was a great match."

"It was a perfect start with the two tournaments that I won and I need to stay dedicated and focused on the upcoming events because if I want to reach number one I have to play consistent, because that's what Rafa will do and the rest of the players.

The two will now head on to Rome in Italy where they are scheduled to meet again in the final as the two top seeds.

The top eight seeds all have first round byes in Rome but top seed Nadal could face Madrid semi-finalist Thomaz Belluci in his first round match while Djokovic will face either Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay or Lukasz Kubot of Poland.

Third seed Roger Federer has a potentially tricky opener against either Marcos Baghdatis or Jo-Wifried Tsonga.

British number one Andy Murray will play Xavier Mallise or Guillermo Garcia-Lopez.