Rafael Nadal has won his fifth Madrid Open title courtesy of a straight-sets victory over Dominic Thiem this evening.
The Spaniard needed almost two-and-a-half hours to battle past the world number nine, but he eventually triumphed 7-6(8) 6-4 to pick up his third consecutive title.
Nadal, who ended his long winless run against Novak Djokovic in the semi-final, was the first to lose serve as Thiem moved into a 3-1 lead, but the 14-time Grand Slam champion soon hit back to restore parity.
Nadal had the chance to wrap the set up at 5-4 and 40-0, but Thiem saved three set points to eventually force a tie-break that provided yet more drama.
Both players created two set points apiece during the breaker, but Nadal crucially took the second of his to claim it 10-8 and win the opening set.
The Spaniard, who is now 15-0 on clay this year, pressed home his advantage with a break in the very first game of the second set, and that proved to be the decisive moment.
Thiem delayed the end by saving two match points at 5-4 down, but Nadal held serve in the next game to wrap up a win which will see him leapfrog Roger Federer into fourth in the world rankings.
It is also Nadal's 30th ATP Masters 1000 crown, placing him level with Djokovic at the top of the all-time list.
