Nadal beats Djokovic to 10th Rome title

Rafael Nadal beat world number one Novak Djokovic to win a 10th Italian Open title yesterday and set down a key marker two weeks out from the dedown between the pair.

“It’s amazing I have this trophy in my hand for a 10th time, it’s something impossible to imagine,” said Nadal who also equalled Djokovic’s record of 36 ATP Masters 1000 titles in his 12th Rome final.

Djokovic and Nadal were facing each other for the 57th time, having last played in the 2020 French Open final which the Spaniard won in straight sets.

The pair have won 15 of the last 17 Rome titles between them, while Nadal leads their head-to-head in finals in the Italian capital 4-2. Five-time Rome winner Djokovic leads their overall head-to-head 29-28.

Meanwhile, Polish teenager Iga Swiatek crushed Czech ninth seed Karolina Pliskova 6-0, 6-0 to win the Italian Open before the men’s 57th career showdown between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal. The 19-year-old reigning French Open champion took just 45 minutes to dispatch the 2019 Rome winner two weeks before.