RAFAEL NADAL WINS HIS 47TH ATP WORLD TOUR CLAY-COURT TITLE

Written by: Staff on 2nd August 2015

RAFAEL NADAL WINS HIS 47TH ATP WORLD TOUR CLAY-COURT TITLE

Rafael Nadal of Spain poses with his trophy after winning the final match against Fabio Fognini of Italy at the ATP tennis tournament in Hamburg, Germany, 02 August 2015. EPA/Daniel Reinhardt |

Top seed Rafael Nadal beat Fabio Fognini 7-5, 7-5 to win the bet-at-home Open in Hamburg on Sunday.

The Spaniard improved to 67-29 in ATP World Tour finals as he exacted revenge on the Italian, who defeated him twice this year in Rio de Janeiro and Barcelona. Nadal also improved his FedEx ATP Head2Head series against Fognini to 5-2.

“I lost the last two times against him, so I knew it was going to be a tough one,” said Nadal. “I think I had a great attitude the whole match, very positive, fighting for every ball. I had some tough moments on court, lost opportunities, but every time I came back and I kept fighting with the right mentality. I’m very happy for the victory. It is an important victory for me.”

A 12-minute opening game saw Fognini break Nadal’s serve for an early 1-0 lead. Four breaks of serve later, Nadal finally earned the first hold for 3-2. The top seed would claim the opening set with a forehand down-the-line return winner after 77 minutes.

Nadal broke for a 3-1 lead in the second set, but Fognini maintained composure to break back. Later, three consecutive breaks of serve allowed Fognini the chance to serve for the second set. Nadal saved one set point and went on to break and level the set again at 5-all. As the Italian served to send the second set to a tie-break, Nadal capitalised on his first match point opportunity for victory in two hours and 34 minutes.

Rafael Nadal of Spain in action against Fabio Fognini of Italy during the final match at the ATP Tennis Tournament in Hamburg, Germany, 02 August 2015. EPA/Daniel Reinhardt

Fabio Fognini of Italy in action against Rafael Nadal of Spain during the final match at the ATP Tennis Tournament in Hamburg, Germany, 02 August 2015. EPA/Daniel Reinhardt

The 29-year-old Mallorcan extended his streak of having won at least one European ATP World Tour clay-court title each year since 2004 as he received €311,775 in prize money and 500 Emirates ATP Rankings points.

“Now the hard-court season is starting, it’s a different story,” said Nadal. “But at the same time, I’ll keep going with the same mentality and this title helps to be a little bit more calm and add some points to my [Emirates ATP] Ranking to try to finish the year in the Top 8 again.”

The eighth seed and 2013 champion Fognini falls to 3-7 in ATP World Tour finals and earned €140,560 and 300 Rankings points.

“I’m happy with the way I played during the week,” said Fognini. “It was a great match. It was really tough.”

(Courtesy of The ATP and Original Link – http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/hamburg-2015-sunday-final-nadal-fognini )

Topics: Atp World Tour, Bet At Home Open, Fabio Fognini, Hamburg final, Rafa Nadal, Sports, Tennis News

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10sBalls_com says:

August 2, 2015 at 4:06 pm

-@RafaelNadal WINS HIS 47TH @ATPWorldTour CLAY-COURT TITLE- http://t.co/TWUzdjiIkd #betathomeOpen #Nadal #Fognini #HamburgFinal #tennis
CardenaDenis says:

August 2, 2015 at 5:15 pm

RT @TennisNewsOne: RAFAEL NADAL WINS HIS 47TH ATP WORLD TOUR CLAY-COURT TITLE http://t.co/FEWfisT87p #tennis
ElenaFoundation says:

August 3, 2015 at 2:00 am

@RafaelNadal Wins his 47th @ATPWorldTour clay court title (news via @10sBalls_com) – Fantastic, congratulations Rafa! http://t.co/eJZeBwmmCZ
Vichammer1985 says:

August 3, 2015 at 6:28 am

RT @ElenaFoundation: @RafaelNadal Wins his 47th @ATPWorldTour clay court title (news via @10sBalls_com) – Fantastic, congratulations Rafa! …