Tennis

Rafael Nadal won the Italian Open for the eighth time on Sunday when he defeated defending champion Alexander Zverev 6-1 1-6 6-3 after a stunning comeback. German second seed Zverev was 3-1 up in the decider before two rain stoppages halted his momentum.

Rafael Nadal survived a scare from Italian Fabio Fognini to reach the Italian Open semifinals with a 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory in Rome. The World No. 2 looked comfortable in the opening set, as he stormed to a 4-1 lead before Fognini rallied to win five straight games and take the first set.

Rafael Nadal’s surprise quarter-final exit at the Madrid Masters has seen the Spaniard replaced as world number one by Roger Federer in the latest ATP rankings published on Monday. Federer returns to the top spot despite not having played since March. Former world No. 1 Novak Djokovic slipped six places to 18th after his second-round defeat in Madrid, his lowest ranking since October 2006.

Novak Djokovic set up an Italian Open semi-final blockbuster against old rival Rafael Nadal after both former world number one players battled back in thrilling last-eight clashes on Friday. The Serb fought back against Kei Nishikori to earn a 2-6, 6-1, 6-3 win while top seed Nadal continued his clay court domination with a 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 defeat of Italy’s Fabio Fognini.

Rafael Nadal eases past the challenge of Canadian teenager Denis Shapovalov with a 6-4, 6-1 victory to reach the Italian Open quarter-finals on Thursday. The 31-year-old will face Italian Fabio Fognini in the last eight as he looks to retake the world number one ranking from Roger Federer by winning an eighth Rome title this week.

Alexander Zverev showed his clay-court class by blowing away Dominic Thiem to win the Madrid Masters on Sunday. Zverev has long been marked out as a future star of the men’s game and his 6-4, 6-4 victory over Thiem suggests the German can be a major threat at the French Open later this month.