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Nadal wins his 8th Rome title to regain the world no.1 rank.

20 May 2018

Rafael Nadal conquers his 8^th title in Rome, the 78^th of his amazing career, but that wasn’t easy at all as it came after an extremely complicated final against Sascha Zverev.

The match

On paper, the German was struggling with his energy level after he played (and won) 13 matches in the previous 17 days. However, Sascha started incredibly well to break Nadal a love in the very first game. Then, it was Rafa to stun the youngster and win the following 6 games at ease (6-1).

When everything was pointing to a routine victory from the King of Clay, Zverev surprise again to win the following 5 games (5-0) a be close to bagel the great Rafael Nadal (on clay)! The Spaniard didn’t want to bend, and he managed to score at least 1 game before losing the 1^st set 6-1.

The 3^rd set was rather unique. In fact, it was Zverev again to dominate and grab a 3-1 lead. Then things changed rather dramatically. In fact, the Spaniard was blessed with a lengthy rain delay of almost 1 hour that helped him to regain the composure. When the match resumed, Rafa was perfect to win the following 5 games and conquer the title. The final result was 6-1 1-6 6-3 and the matched ended after 2 hours and 9 minutes.

I had a clear idea on tactical issues. NADAL

Soon after the match, when asked about the delay, Rafa commented

“When it happened, the rain delay, I didn’t feel in that moment that it would help me. That’s my feeling. It’s true that, if we analyze it now, of course, we can say that the rain delay helped me. But really, in my opinion, what helped me is that I came back with a clear idea regarding tactical issues and in terms of decisions that I took after that break.

And, of course, a little bit of luck that I had the break back immediately. That was a big help. And I think I played with the right determination and strategy later.”

In Rome, Rafa made a statement, and he regained his world no.1 rank, but Zverev has made it clear that he can challenge anyone on any surface in every condition.