( ATP Pic : Rafael Nadal)
Speed Post News Network
Patna : Second seed Rafael Nadal, 34, Spain, battled past top seed & five-time champion Novak Djokovic, 33, Serbia, in three-sets in final at Foro Italico, Rome, Italy, to win his 10th Italian Open title, an ATP Masters 1,ooo clay court event, on May 16, 2021, late night.
Nadal, the winner of 20 Grand Slam singles titles, beat World No 1 Djokovic 7-5, 1-6, 6-3 in the final . It was the 57th meeting between the two tennis titans. Djokovic, however, still leads World No 3 Nadal 29-28 Head to Head. For Nadal, it was his 36th ATP Masters 1,000 title equalling Djokovic.
Both Nadal and Djokovic won 3 break points each during the match with the Spainiard having a slightly better conversion rate. Nadal, in all, won 97 points during the match to 94 by Djokovic,the winner of 18 Grand Slam singles titles. Defending champion Djokovic though won 5 games in a row in the match to 3 by Nadal. The Serbian, however, committed 4 double faults to 1 by Nadal. The Serbian fired 5 Aces in the match to 3 by the Spainiard. It was a morale boosting victor for Nadal ahead of French Open.
Nadal had also defeated Djokovicin 2019 Italian Open final 6-0, 4-6, 6-1 to win his 9th Italian Open title.