Back on top: Nadal beats Djokovic for 9th Italian Open title

Djokovic again netted an overhead in the next game and then kicked the ball in frustration when he missed a drop shot attempt late in the second.

But Djokovic hung around in the second and converted his first set point when a looping forehand from Nadal sailed wide for his first break of the match. As he walked to his chair after winning the second set, Djokovic waved his arms to get the crowd behind him.

However, Djokovic didn't have much left in the tank.

When Nadal pushed Djokovic deep into the corner in the opening game of the third set and Djokovic's desperation lob sailed long to hand Nadal a break, Djokovic smashed his racket to the clay three times in frustration and received a warning from the chair umpire.

Djokovic won only 29 percent of the points on his second serve and committed 39 unforced errors to Nadal's 17. Also, Nadal won 23 of the 31 rallies with nine or more shots.

PLISKOVA NO. 2 Pliskova's victory will move her up to No. 2 in the rankings and makes her one of the contenders for Roland Garros.

"I just hope to take the tennis I was playing here to Paris," Pliskova said. "For sure there's going to be a chance for me if I play this way."

The 2016 U.S. Open runner-up, Pliskova also reached the Australian Open semifinals and the Miami Open final after opening this season with a title in Brisbane, Australia. But she lost in the second round of her previous two tournaments on clay in Stuttgart, Germany, and Madrid.

"Nobody really gave me chance for this tournament — even me," Pliskova said. "Before the tournament, I was not super confident, not thinking about the final at all. I was just happy with every match which I played. So it's little bit like a miracle for me."

The unseeded Konta appeared nervous at the start, double faulting then landing a backhand into the net to hand Pliskova a break in her opening service game.

In the second set, Pliskova used a swinging forehand volley putaway to break for a 4-3 lead and never looked back.

"It's always tough playing Karolina," Konta said. "There's rarely really a rhythm to the match. She plays with big shots, quite flat, and big serves. It can feel sometimes you're fighting an uphill battle. That was the case today."

Pliskova attributed a lot of her success to Conchita Martinez, the four-time Rome champion who she recently named her head coach.

"She loved clay so she knows exactly what I should do," Pliskova said of Martinez. "There were small differences: movement, maybe to put more topspin on the balls, use drop shots — which I never use, but I start little bit, and to mix also the serves. ... I know she loved this tournament. I think she prayed so I could win today."

AP