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Rome, May 17 (IANS): World No. 3 Spaniard Rafael Nadal on Sunday won his 10th Italian Open title, after overcoming a second set comeback from No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the final to triumph 7-5, 1-6, 6-3 in two hours and 50 minutes.
The victory gave second seeded Nadal the 36th ATP Masters 1000 crown, equalling top seeded Djokovic's all-time record, since the series was established in 1990.
In the 57th meeting of the ATP Tour's one of the most prolific rivalries, Djokovic was facing second seed Nadal, winner of 20 Grand Slam singles title winner, for the ninth time at the ForoItalico.
Nadal improved to 4-2 in Rome finals against Djokovic with the victory, and brought his ATP head-to-head record against the Serbian to 28-29 overall.
Nadal, on the other hand, needed an hour-and-a-half-to take down Reilly Opelka of the USA.
Djokovic, who was bidding to record his first win on clay against the Spaniard since the 2016 Rome quarter-finals, showed little signs of fatigue in the opening set.
The Serbian raced to a 2-0 lead, staying aggressive and keeping the points short. But Nadal broke straight back, and his forehand speed steadily climbed as the set unfolded, earning 15 of his 21 winners.
Nadal claimed the decisive break late in the set, taking advantage of a shaky service game of the Serbian at 5-5 to claim the lead, sealing the set.
But a dip in Nadal's intensity gave Djokovic the opening he needed in the second set.
However, the Spaniard held firm and raised his level in the final set, reeling out forehand winners to take a 4-2 lead. He converted his second championship point after Djokovic sent a backhand long, sealing the victory.
Despite the hard-fought three-set victory over arch-rival Novak Djokovic of Serbia in the Italian Open final on Sunday, Spaniard Rafael Nadal continues to be at third spot on the ATP rankings, released on Monday.
Djokovic is way ahead of the pack with 11,063 points. Russian Daniil Medvedev continues to be ranked No. 2 in the world with 9,793 points, just 163 points ahead of Nadal, who would be aiming for a record 21st Grand Slam title at the French Open starting on May 24.
While no movement was seen in the top 10, it was a historic last week for Nadal in Rome in several ways. The Spaniard not only won the Italian Open for a record 10th time, he also tied Djokovic's record for most career Masters 1000 titles at 36.
Nadal's 7-5, 1-6, 6-3 victory over the Serb in the Italian Open final was his 22nd career win over a reigning No. 1, more than any man or woman in ATP or WTA rankings history, according to tennis.com
A day after achieving so many historic feats, Nadal started off his 817th career week in the top 10, passing American legend Jimmy Connors for the second-most career weeks in the top 10 in ATP rankings history.
The Spaniard now trails Switzerland's Roger Federer, who is currently ranked eighth in the world.
While Federer has spent 948 weeks among the top 10, Nadal has 817. Djokovic is a distant fifth with 683 weeks.