Rafael Nadal is right back where he wants to be.
After losing in the semifinals of three straight clay-court tournaments, Nadal dominated for stretches against his longtime rival, Novak Djokovic, in a 6-0, 4-6, 6-1 win Sunday for a record-extending ninth Italian Open title.
It marked the first time in an Open Era-record 54 meetings, and in their 142nd set against each other, that Nadal won a set against Djokovic without conceding a game otherwise known as a bagel.
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The timing for Nadal’s return to form could not have been more opportune, as he will seek a record-extending 12th title at the French Open starting next weekend.
Top-ranked Djokovic, meanwhile, appeared exhausted after spending more than 5 hours on court against Juan Martin del Potro and Diego Schwartzman the previous two days. Djokovic was also coming off the Madrid Open title last week.
In the women’s final earlier, Karolina Pliskova captured the biggest clay-court trophy of her career by beating Johanna Konta 6-3, 6-4.
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Pliskova, the 2017 French Open semifinalist, clinched her 13th career title, in the final major warm-up tournament on clay before Roland Garros starts on May 26.
“It was a great week for me and my team,” said the 27-year-old.
The results: Women: Final: Karolina Pliskova bt Johanna Konta 6-3, 6-4.
Men: Final: Rafael Nadal bt Novak Djokovic 6-0, 4-6, 6-1.
Semifinals: Djokovic bt Diego Schwartzman 6-3, 6-7(2), 6-3.