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Rafael Nadal beat Novak Djokovic 7-5, 1-6, 6-3 in an absorbing final to clinch his 10th Italian Open trophy on Sunday. It was Nadal’s 88th career title and his 62nd on clay. The Spaniard now also has 36th Masters 1000 crowns to his name, matching the record tally of Djokovic.
On that note, let's take a look at three things that stood out in the match:
#1 Novak Djokovic showed no signs of tiredness in the 1st set, but Rafael Nadal changed his strategy to scrape through
Despite playing his third match in two days, Novak Djokovic didn't show any signs of exhaustion in the first set. In fact, he was winning the majority of the longer rallies.
The Serb repeatedly landed his returns deep into Rafael Nadal’s half of the court, and didn't allow the Spaniard to be comfortable on his subsequent shot.
Nadal initially stuck to his pattern of hitting the crosscourt forehand to Djokovic’s backhand, but the latter held his own in most of those exchanges. Djokovic also managed to hit quite a few winners off his backhand, which forced Nadal on the backfoot right from the start.
The World No. 1 broke Nadal in his very first service game, but let his focus slip momentarily to get broken back for 2-2. That, unfortunately for Djokovic, was enough for the Spaniard to get a foothold in the match.
Midway through the first set Nadal changed his strategy, and starting hitting a lot more inside-out forehands - to the forehand side of Djokovic. And he reaped the rewards of that almost instantly.
Nadal was able to break in the 11th game of the first set to lead 6-5, from where he served it out without much trouble. Nadal hit 15 forehand winners in the first set alone, showing his supremacy on that wing.
The serve was also a key difference in that opening frame; Djokovics’s first-serve ratio was just a shade above 60%, whereas Nadal’s was well over 80%.
#2 Novak Djokovic came back strongly in the second set, even as Rafael Nadal started faltering
Novak Djokovic bounced back in resounding fashion after the reversal in the first set. He started playing forceful shots to Rafael Nadal's backhand side more often, preventing the Spaniard from unloading on his forehand.
Moreover, Djokovic also started using the drop shot liberally to drag Nadal forward to the net. Nadal, unable to set up camp at the baseline and dictate rallies with his forehand any longer, started faltering and committing unforced errors.
The Spaniard coughed up as many as eight unforced errors in just seven games in the second set.
Rafael Nadal’s first serve ratio also dropped to 61% in the second set, whereas Novak Djokovic was able to maintain his at 70%. As a result, Nadal got broken twice in the set, and the Serb managed to run away with it.
It was only the second set that Nadal had dropped in the tournament, and the momentum seemed to have swung in Djokovic’s favor.
#3 Rafael Nadal showed his class in the final set
The greatest claycourt player of all time wasn't about to give up so easily, and he started showing his class again in the final set. Rafael Nadal served more accurately in the decider, and also cut down on his unforced errors.
The Spaniard made another key change down the home stretch - by bringing out the backhand slice more often, he forced Novak Djokovic to generate his own power. The Serb wasn't quite at ease doing that, and the change in pace threw him off his rhythm.
Nadal also showed a more aggressive approach off his forehand, and struck quite a few down-the-line winners to take the attack to his opponent. Djokovic’s first serve ratio dropped down again to hover around the 60% mark, and Nadal was able to break him in the sixth game of the set to lead 4-2.
The Spaniard then maintained his composure to hold his serve and win the decider 6-3. Novak Djokovic, in spite of putting up a brave fight, couldn't stop Rafael Nadal from winning the 'La Decima' in Rome.
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