Nadal wasted a 3-1 lead in the final set and saved two set points before coming out strong in 2 hours and 34 minutes over the eighth-seeded Italian and the 2013 Hamburg winner.

Rafael Nadal returns the ball against Fognini in the final

Nadal has had a poor record this year of losing six times on his favorite clay-court compared to three previous years combined but he was able to see-off Fognini.

It is the 67th singles title of the 29-year-old’s career and his third in Hamburg, where he last won in 2008.Nadal’s win will see him rise one spot to No. 9 in the rankings.

“It was a great match, many great points, many breaks, we fought hard,” Nadal said. He continued; “I had many ups and downs.”

Fognini was trying to become the first player to beat the Spaniard three times on clay in a year having beaten him twice.

Nadal now has 47 clay-court titles behind Guillermo Vilas of Argentina who won 49 titles.

Read more on atpworldtour.com

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