ROME, (Reuters) – World number one Rafael Nadal  overcame stubborn early resistance from defending champion Novak  Djokovic to claim a record fourth Rome Masters title with a 7-6  6-2 win yesterday.

The Spaniard took the first set in a tiebreak before  breaking the Serbian third seed twice in the second set to bag  his fifth title of the year, his third on clay, and continue his  dominance.

“(It’s) one of the most important (wins) of my career,”  Nadal, who will be gunning for a fifth successive French Open  title later this month, told a news conference.

“Winning in Rome is a big title. I now have 15 Masters  Series in my career, so that’s a lot, and I’m very happy for  that.”

Yesterday’s victory lifted Nadal to the top of the Rome league,  surpassing the record of three titles he had shared with  Austrian Thomas Muster, Australian Martin Mulligan and Czech  Jaroslav Drobny.    Nadal enjoyed a flying start to the match, which had been  slightly delayed because a spectator fell ill during the  warm-up, breaking in the opening game.

The Spaniard looked unstoppable and had a set point in the  ninth game on Djokovic’s serve but let his advantage slip. Nadal  dropped serve in the next game with some uncharacteristic loose  forehands, allowing the Serb to level at 5-5.

Djokovic smashed up a racket up for the second time this  week when he immediately conceded serve again.

The 21-year-old Serb, who rallied to beat Roger Federer in  the semis, quickly regained composure to forge back on level  terms and the crowd got behind him sensing a surprise only for  Nadal to run away with the tiebreak 7-2.

The top seed saved a break point at the start of the second  and things stayed tight until a double fault cost Djokovic his  serve in the sixth game.

Nadal broke again and sealed victory with a superlative  forehand pass.

“When I needed to maybe stay a little bit more patient and  just play the right shots I made some unforced errors,” said  Djokovic, who did his impersonation of Nadal during the awards  ceremony.

The result also meant Djokovic would surrender the number  three spot in the world rankings to Andy Murray on May 11 even  though the 21-year-old Scot lost his opening match in Rome to  Argentine qualifier Juan Monaco.  Despite the setback, the Serb remained upbeat.

“I’ve been playing really well in the last three Masters  Series events and I’m really happy with the shape I’m in at the  moment,” said Djokovic, who reached the final of Miami and Monte  Carlo Masters last month.

“So I will try to stay physically fit because that’s what  I’m going need very much in upcoming two months until the  Wimbledon is over.

“Confidence is really important in this sport, in any sport.  Right now I think I have good confidence.”