Rafael Nadal has won his third ATP title of the year after beating Fabio Fognini in straight sets in the German Open final.
The Italian was able to secure an early break in the first set, where the first four games of the match went to deuce.
However, in the fourth game, Nadal was able to restore parity as he found his range against the world number 32.
Fognini managed to stop Nadal breaking for a second consecutive game, as he held his serve amid a litany of unforced errors on both sides of the net.
The nine-time French Open champion finally broke his opponent's resolve in the 12th game, to wrap up the first set 7-5.
Nadal then looked to be cruising towards the title after moving 3-1 up in the second, but Fognini bounced back with a break of his own and was serving for the set at 5-4.
When the clay-court specialist levelled at 5-5, which sparked an angry exchange between the players, with Fognini visibly unhappy with Nadal.
However, the world number 10, aided by further unforced errors from the Italian, came back and eventually closed out a 7-5, 7-5 victory and won his 47th clay court title in the process.
Chris O'Keefe
