Points won by each set: | 50-46, 38-33 |
Points won directly behind the serve:
24 % Nadal – 21 of 87
27 % Thiem – 22 of 80

The 31-year-old Nadal [5] is a king of clay again! It’s his third straight title on this surface, following Monte Carlo and Barcelona where he also defeated Thiem in the final (6-4, 6-1). The 1st set was a clay-court battle at its finest. Thiem [9] saved a triple set point at *5:6, then another two set points in the tie-break, he had set points as well, two on Nadal’s serve – on the second occasion Nadal played his classic – slice serve on backhand to finish the rally with his next stroke – forehand. Thiem needed three games in the 2nd set to mentally recover after the bitter loss of the opener. The break in the 1st game of the 2nd set decided, but the young Austrian showed his fighting spirit – at *3:5 he saved a double match point and had four break points in the following game before Nadal finished the event on his second match point with a backhand volley. “Today is a day to be satisfied, to be happy and to have this trophy,” Nadal said. “This is a very emotional period of the season. I really enjoy these tournaments. I just try to go for all of them. I try to compete. I did well in Monte-Carlo and Barcelona, and also here. I hope to do the same in Rome.” Nadal has equaled Djokovic’s record of 30 Masters Series titles.

Nadal’s route to his 72nd title:
2 Fabio Fognini 7-6(3), 3-6, 6-4
3 Nick Kyrgios 6-3, 6-1
Q David Goffin 7-6(3), 6-2
S Novak Djokovic 6-2, 6-4
W Dominic Thiem 7-6(8), 6-4