Rafael Nadal dumps Novak Djokovic to regain title – Internazionali BNL d’Italia 2012
Spain’s Rafael Nadal showed why he is known as the King of Clay by beating the reigning world number one, Novak Djokovic of Serbia, in straight sets 7-5, 6-3 in the Internazionali BNL d’Italia final in Rome on Monday. The match
was scheduled to be played on Sunday but rain washed out play and it was postponed to the next day. It took Nadal two hours and 20 minutes to breeze past the defending champion.
Last year’s final at the Foro Italico was played between the same two players, when Djokovic beat Nadal in straight sets to upset the then top ranked Spaniard.
Nadal got his rival under pressure from the start of the contest, as he attacked Djokovic’s opening serve. The Serbian managed to save a couple of break points in the first game but could not do the same in the fifth, dropping
his serve and going down 2-3. Djokovic, however, responded immediately to level the score at 3-3. Both players held in the following four games to take it to 5-5. Nadal struck again in the 11th and did not let away the golden opportunity, serving
it out at 6-5 and getting one set to love lead.
The Spaniard did not allow Djokovic to gain momentum, breaking him in the very first game of the second set and saving four threats of his own in the second to grab a 2-0 advantage. The Serbian created another break opportunity
in the fourth game but squandered it too. Serving to stay in the contest at 3-5, Djokovic committed his fourth double fault of the match and lost it 3-6.
In a post match interview, an extremely happy Nadal said, "I am happy that I won in Rome without losing a set against the best players in the world like [Tomas] Berdych and [David] Ferrer and Djokovic. I will have this trophy in
my bedroom. It is a dream. [I have] the confidence I am playing well and this comes when I play at the right level. Hopefully I will keep playing like this."
On the other hand, Djokovic was visibly disappointed by the loss. He said, "He is always the favourite, even if I win against him seven times; he is the best player in the world on this surface. I think that the match today was
quite close, even if he won in straight sets.”
This was Nadal sixth title at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, lifting his previous crowns in 2005-2007 and 2009-2010.
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