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ROME, May 11: World No 3 Novak Djokovic came back from a set down to beat unseeded Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 and claim the Rome Masters title on Sunday.
Wawrinka had the better of the early exchanges and took the first set after breaking Djokovic in the fifth game.
The Serb hung in during a spell on the back foot and pulled himself back into contention with a break in the middle of the second set.
He then took Wawrinka’s serve again at the start and end of the final set to secure the title.
Djokovic, the Australian Open champion, and Wawrinka had on Saturday progressed to the final after their semi-final opponents retired injured.
Serbian third seed Djokovic went through after unseeded Czech Radek Stepanek, who stunned world No 1 Roger Federer on Friday, pulled out when 6-0, 1-0 down. After the game Stepanek said he felt weak and dizzy on court.
Wawrinka made the final after American sixth seed Andy Roddick withdrew at 3-0 down in the first set because of a back injury.
SAFINA WINS IN BERLIN
BERLIN: Dinara Safina of Russia came from a set down to win the German Open on Sunday with a 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 victory over seventh-seeded compatriot Elena Dementieva.
Safina was erratic in the first set but came back strongly in the second and sealed it with an ace down the middle.
The 22-year-old broke twice in the deciding set and sealed the win when Dementieva netted a backhand on the first match point.
On Saturday, world No 2 Ana Ivanovic suffered a surprise 6-2, 7-5, defeat by Dementieva in the semi-finals. The 20-year-old Serbian, the title holder in Berlin, made far too many unforced errors and was broken five times by the Russian.
Safina defeated unseeded Victoria Azarenka 6-4, 6-1 in the first semi-final.—Reuters
