Rafael Nadal returns to No. 1 in ATP Rankings with Italian Open triumph

What's the story?

Spanish superstar Rafael Nadal's dominance on the clay court continued as he clinched a thrilling 6-1, 1-6, 6-3 victory over Germany's Alexander Zverev in the Italian Open that took place in Rome.

With the win, Rafael Nadal regained the numero uno ranking in the men's category as he went on to topple Roger Federer from the top position.

In case you didn't know...

The Spaniard, who first rose to the top of the rankings in 2008 will start his 168th week atop the ATP rankings and stands 7th in the list of male tennis players who have spent the most number of weeks at the top of the rankings. He had dropped to No. 2 last week after failing to defend his title in Madrid.

This is also the fifth time Nadal has occupied the top spot with his dominating show on clay matched with consistency on the grass court helping him rise to the top on four previous occasions, the most recent from August 2017 - February 2018.

Heart of the Matter

The 16-time grand slam champion, who blazed through the road to the finals had a lot of work to do against defending champion Zverev, who even managed to clinch the second set of the game before Nadal came back strong to pocket the match.

Putting up a dominating show in the first set, Nadal lost a bit of concentration in the second set which carried on to the third set where Zverev was leading 3-1 until a rain break proved to be a blessing in disguise for Nadal as he found his bearings to come back from behind and win the set and with that, the Italian Open.

Nadal's eighth Italian Open victory ensured that he replaced Roger Federer, who opted to skip the Italian Open after a shocking exit from the Miami Open from the top of the rankings.

What's Next?

The Spanish superstar will now set his eyes on the French Open at Roland Garros and hope to keep his good run of form going with an 11th French Open title.

Author's Take

The 31-year old has been one of the game's greatest superstars and it comes to no surprise that his dominance on the clay court has taken him to the top, a position he would love to hold on to for a long time to come.