Rafael Nadal Beats Fabio Fognini To Win Hamburg Open

Rafael Nadal claimed his third title of the year by defeating Fabio Fognini 7-5 7-5 in the final of the Hamburg Open on Sunday.

The win was a remarkable return to form for the Spaniard, who was competing for the first time since being knocked out of Wimbledon at the second round stage by qualifier Dustin Brown.

Nadal had already lost twice to Fognini on his favoured clay surface in an injury-blighted year, but it proved to be third time lucky as he secured a hard-fought win.

This was his second title in Hamburg after he won the competition seven years ago, and takes his career number of singles titles up to 67 – 47 of which have come on clay.

Nadal threw away a 3-1 lead in the second set and also had to claw back two set points in an epic encounter which lasted two hours and 34 minutes and contained 12 breaks of serve.

After the game, he admitted the game had been tough.

He said: “It was a very tough final, it is an important title for me.

“It was a great match, many great points, many breaks, we fought hard.”

The win sees Nadal move up to ninth in the world rankings and this momentum could push him even further up, just in time for the fourth and final Grand Slam of the Year, the US Open.