Djokovic floors Nadal again to claim Rome title
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}By Richard Allen
"It's really beautiful to be here, to play against a great champion like Rafa in this stadium which is the coliseum of tennis. This place is special," Djokovic said in a courtside interview as he stood just five matches short of equaling John McEnroe's 42-0 start record.
Nadal, who had not been beaten on clay for almost two years until last Sunday, was magnanimous in defeat and embraced his conqueror as the players received a standing ovation from the crowd.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Compliments to Novak for his splendid performance and the season he is having," said Nadal, who had almost pulled out before the tournament started due to illness.
A rain-delayed start gave Djokovic a few extra hours to recover from Friday's draining three-hour semi-final win over Andy Murray, but there were ominous signs in the third game that the world number two might still be weary as he dinked a dropshot that barely reached the bottom of the net.
The Serbian recovered though, crashing a forehand down the line to take the game. Nadal remained unruffled and whizzed around the court to bring an excited Foro Italico crowd to their feet with a whipped forehand to level at 3-3.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}After Nadal produced another superb running forehand, Djokovic conjured an incredible angle with a whipped forehand to hold serve.
In the next game, Djokovic won a marathon point at 15-all and with the tension palpable, the Spaniard erred twice more -- floating a forehand long before mis-hitting another high into the Rome sky to hand the Serb the first break at 5-3.
He faltered on his first attempt to serve out the set, surrendering the advantage by netting the ball following another exhausing rally, but broke Nadal again with a brilliant backhand crosscourt winner to take the set.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}An anxious-looking Nadal, who will be looking to win his sixth French Open trophy when the claycourt grand slam begins next Sunday, fought back from 2-0 down in a fluctuating second set before Djokovic underlined his mental toughness, forcing the Spaniard into errors to break in the ninth game.
Djokovic saw his first three match points go begging -- thanks to two backhand errors and an unreturnable serve from Nadal -- but he made no mistake on the fourth.
After a furious exchange which featured two net cords, Djokovic whipped a forehand and then watched on as a charging Nadal could only roll the ball into the net to hand the world number two another memorable victory.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Djokovic promptly collapsed on to his back and let out an almighty roar to celebrate his victory.
(Editing by Pritha Sarkar)