In extending his winning streak on clay to 30 matches, Nadal captured a record 4th Rome Masters championship. He defeated defending champion Novak Djokovic in straight sets.
“I had my chances,” said Djokovic, who rallied to beat Roger Federer in the semifinals. “He overcomes the pressure better than me, that’s why he’s the best in the world. But overall, I’m pretty happy with the week.”
Nadal broke an Open Era tie with Thomas Muster, who won Rome titles in 1990, 1995 and 1996. Jaroslav Drobny and Martin Mulligan also each won three titles before the Open Era.
Rome is a key warmup for the French Open, which begins in three weeks with Nadal the four-time defending champion.
Nadal broke serve in the opening game of the match, but Djokovic had his chances in the first set before losing control for good in the tiebreaker, sending a weak backhand drop-shot attempt into the net on Nadal’s third set point.
Nadal improved his Rome record to 22-1 and is a tour-best 38-3 this year, winning five of the eight tournaments he’s entered.
It was his 15th Masters Series title, one more than Roger Federer and two shy of Andre Agassi’s record of 17.
So, I’m just throwing this out there: Who do you think will win the French Open this year? My money is on 648th-ranked Darko Madjarovski from Serbia though something tells me my notions are misguided. I’ll say Nadal comes out on top, but not before a challenging five-setter from Serbia’s favorite son.
