Italian Open: Rafael Nadal Wins Title

 

Two seasons ago, Rafael Nadal claimed his last Internazionali BNL d'Italia title by beating Novak Djokovic and today's final was different either for the Spaniard who to set the record straight on his dominance of clay-court by winning the title for a record-setting milestone of the tenth time in his career.

Djokovic put up strong resistance from the start and did control the second set which he won until Nadal got fired up in the decider to outshone the top-seeded player in a three-setter final 7-5, 1-6, 6-3 on their 57th head-to-head ATP series. 

The victory handed Nadal his 36th Masters 1000 title leveling with his opponent Djokovic on all title biggest Masters 1000 winners. 

"I was lucky in some moments, especially against (Dennis) Shapovalov," said Nadal. "it's amazing to have this trophy in my hands for the 10th time. It's something impossible to imagine."