Rafa's perfect 10 puts Paris rivals on notice

Nadal powers to another Italian title to head to French Open as huge favorite

ROME－The heavy top spin. That lefty spin. And the loopy trajectory.

Rafael Nadal's forehand gave Novak Djokovic fits in the latest installment of the most-played rivalry in modern men's tennis.

A whopping 26 forehand winners－15 in the first set alone－helped Nadal to a 7-5, 1-6, 6-3 victory and a record-extending 10th Italian Open title on Sunday.

Whipping forehands that produced an average of 54 revolutions per second－to Djokovic's 45 revolutions－Nadal's biggest weapon was in top form.

"I have been playing better and better with my forehand the last couple of weeks, getting to the confidence point," Nadal said. "That's a huge improvement for me, very important shot. Especially on clay it gives me confidence."

The title also reestablished Nadal as the overwhelming favorite for the French Open, where the Spaniard will be aiming for an even harder-to-believe 14th title starting in two weeks.

But Nadal preferred to focus on his achievement in Rome－at least for the moment.

"To have this trophy in my hands for the 10th time is something hard to believe," Nadal said, recalling how he won his first title at the Foro Italico in 2005 as an 18-year-old, when he beat Guillermo Coria in a match lasting more than five hours.

"Now, 16 years later, to play in the final again is incredible," Nadal said in Italian during the trophy presentation. "It's difficult to describe. Without a doubt this is one of the most important places in my career."

Three forehand winners helped Nadal produce the decisive break in the third set, when Djokovic's energy level appeared to dip.

The top-ranked Djokovic spent nearly five hours on court Saturday, when he had to rally for a rain-delayed quarterfinal victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas before winning another three-setter over local favorite Lorenzo Sonego in the semifinals. Nadal played only once on Saturday, beating Reilly Opelka in 1½ hours.

"He managed to break my serve and played better. That's it," Djokovic said. "I had my shot to win it but wasn't meant to be. I didn't feel fatigue. Actually, I was very happy with the way I felt on the court. I could have gone for another few hours."

In the women's final, reigning French Open champion Iga Swiatek routed Karolina Pliskova with a "double bagel" 6-0, 6-0.

"I did that so well that I didn't even know that it was 6-0 in the first set," Swiatek said. "So that was kind of funny, because I asked my coach what was the score after the match. Mentally I was really in good shape today."

It was the first double bagel in a WTA final in five years, since Simona Halep overwhelmed Anastasija Sevastova in Bucharest.

It was the 57th meeting between Nadal and Djokovic, which is the most matches between two men in the Open era. It was also their ninth meeting in Rome, where they have played more than anywhere else.

Djokovic now holds the slimmest of edges in the all-time series, 29-28, while Nadal holds a 6-3 advantage in Rome overall and 4-2 in Rome finals.