Nadal beat Fognini 7-5, 7-5 at Hamburg Open final
Xinhua, August 2, 2015 Adjust font size:
Rafael Nadal clinched his second title in Hamburg as he overcame Fabio Fognini in two sets after 2 hours and 35 minutes at the Hamburg Open final on Sunday.
The Spaniard lifted his 67th career title and the second in Hamburg after 2008. It was a hard-earned 7-5, 7-5 victory on clay for the top-seeded former No. 1, who had to overpower resilient Fabio Fognini.
The eighth-seeded Italian and Hamburg winner from 2013 proved to be tough task for Nadal, who had to battle for his second win in Hamburg.
The spectators in Hamburg Rothenbaum saw a clumsy first set in which both players gave away their first two services. However, Nadal recovered and was able to take advantage on Fognini' s unforced errors to seal the first set 7-5.
The Spaniard looked more confident with the first set behind and grabbed a 3-1 lead in the second set. Nevertheless, Fognini refused to give up and came from behind to establish a 5-4 lead. Yet, the Italian squandered two set points allowing Nadal to win the second set 7-5 following three straight games.
With the triumph in Hamburg, Rafael Nadal earned 500 ATP points to climb from World' s No. 10 to 9 ousting Milos Raonic. Endi