Rafael Nadal defeated his opponent after a 50-minute weather to win 6-1 1-6 6-3 and claimed his eighth Rome Masters title and at the same time, send out a warning to his closest challenger ahead of the French Open, which starts next weekend.

The Spaniard extended his unblemished record to 5-0 over Alexander Zverev, and he has now won all seven sets they've contested on clay. He also sealed his 32nd Masters 1000 crown and 78th career title in the process.

Nadal, who won both Monte Carlo and Barcelona for an 11th time, will also reclaim the coveted world No 1 ranking from Roger Federer when the latest set of rankings are released on Monday.