Đoković beats Nadal, claims Rome Masters title

Đoković beats Nadal, claims Rome Masters title

ROME -- Novak Đoković won the Rome Masters ATP as he beat the former champion, Spain's Rafael Nadal, in the final match on Sunday, 2-1 (4-6, 6-3, 6-3).

Đoković thus won his third trophy this season, after the tournaments in Miami and Indian Wells.

This is also his 19th Masters title and one of the 44 titles he has won in his career so far, six of which were Grand Slam tournaments.

With the victory, the Serbian tennis player significantly reduced Nadal's advantage as the top-ranked player on the ATP list and won EUR 549,000 worth of prize money.

"This is for Serbia and Bosnia," Đoković wrote on a camera after the match, in reference to the floods that hit the two Balkan countries.

Another Serbian tennis player, Nenad Zimonjić, was victorious on Sunday in Rome. He and Canada's Daniel Nestor won the men's doubles competition by defeating Dutch Robin Haase and Spain's Feliciano Lopez, 6-4, 7-6 (7-2).

This is the 27th title won by Zimonjić and Nestor so far and their third title in this season. They previously won in Sydney and Madrid.

By winning the Rome Masters, Zimonjić and Nestor claimed EUR 170,000 in prize money and 1,000 ATP points.