Losing Rome final would have been really bad for Rafael Nadal
Spain's Rafael Nadal has finally won his first clay title of the season as he has avoided entering the French Open without a title won on his favorite surface.
Nadal, who lost a total of two matches on clay in 2017 and 2018 respectively, isn't enjoying a dominant clay-court campaign but still managed to beat world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the Rome Masters final 6-0 4-6 6-1.
In his first three tournaments of the clay season, the Spaniard picked up three semi-final exits.
Nadal was a man on a mission since his Rome opener as, on his way to the final, he beat Jeremy Chardy 6-0 6-1, Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-1 6-0, Fernando Verdasco 6-4 6-0, Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3 6-4.
The Spaniard then made a perfect start to the Rome final as for the first time ever a Nadal and Djokovic match featured a bagel.
Nadal controlled the match and looked flawless, while Djokovic was clearly tired following his exhausting wins over Juan Martin del Potro and Diego Schwartzman respectively.
Yet, the Serb refused to give up as he saved multiple break points before he broke the Spaniard in the 10th game of the second set to force a decider.
However, Nadal kept his focus as he cruised past the third set to win it all in Rome.
Losing the Rome final would have been devastating for Nadal, taking into consideration how he performed in his first three clay tournaments and how he was then performing in Rome.
Record 11-time French Open champion Nadal will now enter the second Grand Slam of the season in good spirits as he will be motivated to win his third consecutive title at Roland Garros.
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2QeufDi
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