Rafael Nadal, Madrid Open
Tennis - ATP 1000 Masters - Madrid Open - Men's Singles Semifinal - Novak Djokovic of Serbia v Rafael Nadal of Spain - Madrid, Spain - 13/5/17 - Djokovic congratulates Nadal at the end of their match. Reuters / Susana Vera

Rafael Nadal acknowledged that snapping a seven-game losing streak against arch rival Novak Djokovic will help him during the forthcoming French Open. Nadal beat the Serb 6-2, 6-4 Saturday to advance to the final of the Mutua Madrid Open, the penultimate stop before Roland Garross.

Nadal will now face Dominic Thiem of Austria in Sunday's final with an opportunity to claim his third consecutive clay-court title of the season after comfortable victories at Barcelona and Monte-Carlo.

On Saturday, Nadal beat Djokovic for the first time since the 2014 French Open final. If they find themselves in opposite draws, there's a strong possibility that they return to the final next month. "The circumstances nowadays are completely different compared to those seven matches that occurred before. The last two years perhaps haven't been my best two years. They were really good years for Novak," Nadal told a news conference Sunday after breaking a seven-game losing streak to Djokovic.

Rafael Nadal, the clear favourite to win 2017 French Open

With the Spaniard gaining momentum at the right time, odds makers are tipping him as a heavy favourite to a win an unprecedented 10th French Open championship next month. But Nadal is not thinking that far ahead. His No. 1 priority is to win Sunday's final in front of his home fans. "It's one more match. What's important to me is to make it to another final. As years go by, depending on the type of victories, (they) can fulfil you a little bit more or less. The most important thing is the titles, not the opponents that you have beaten," the World No. 5 said, va Sydney Morning Herald.

Meanwhile, Djokovic acknowledged that he was no match for Nadal in their 50th career head-to-head meeting. “Rafa was obviously a better player today. He deserved to win. He was controlling the game from beginning to the end, His quality was very high and he managed to do whatever he wanted, especially in the first set. He did get the better of me in most of the stats today, most of the shots.”

Despite the defeat, Novak Djokovic will take positives into the Italian Open, a tournament he has won on four occasions (2008, 2011, 2014 and 2015) and finished runner-up three times (2009, 2012 and 2016). The ATP 1000 Masters event will be the final stop before the 2017 French Open (May 22 - June 11). For Rafael Nadal, a victory in Rome could secure a potential Top-2 seed at the French Open despite a forgettable 2016.

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"It’s (Federer's backhand) night and day. It’s like he (has) found a totally new backhand. (Nadal) has that left-handed forehand that goes into Roger’s backhand, so he usually starts the point behind. Now, he’s capable of holding up under the pressure Rafa puts him under." -- Rod Laver.
(Read More: 'Roger Federer can beat Rafael Nadal at 2017 French Open')