Novak Djokovic beat Tomas Berdych to win his second Monte Carlo title and become the first man to win the opening three Masters events of the season.
The world number one came through 7-5 4-6 6-3 on the clay to extend his winning run in 2015 to 17 matches.
Djokovic, 27, adds Monte Carlo to the Masters titles he won in Indian Wells and Miami last month. The Serb hopes to complete the career Grand Slam with a first title at the French Open, which starts next month.
He had laid down a marker with victory over nine-time Roland Garros champion Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals and completed the job in Sunday’s rain-interrupted final.
Leading Masters 1000 winners 27: Rafael Nadal 23: Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer 17: Andre Agassi 11: Pete Sampras 9: Andy Murray Sixth seed Berdych provided a real test for Djokovic, despite a 2-18 record against the top seed, but two breaks of serve were still not enough for the Czech in the opening set.
In overcast conditions, and with both men complaining about the slippery court, Djokovic secured the set at the second attempt.
The Serb was still not at his best and did well to recover from 0-40 at 2-2 in the second before the rain came and forced the players off court for an hour.
Another chance for Djokovic to break slipped by on the resumption, and it was Berdych who found something closer to top form as he grabbed his chance to level at one set all.
Djokovic looked on course for his 11th love set of the year when he raced 4-0 clear in the decider but Berdych pegged him back again, and the 2013 champion required two hours and 43 minutes to wrap up a hard-fought win.
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Source: BBC