ROME, Italy (AFP) — Rafael Nadal, the world number three, won a record equalling 17th Masters title with a 7-5, 6-2 defeat of 13th-seeded Spanish compatriot David Ferrer at the Rome Masters 1000 at the Foro Italico yesterday.

In a match that finished four and a half hours after it started due to two rain delays, clay court king Nadal was never troubled.

His victory matched the mark of 17 Masters wins set by Andre Agassi, although the American was 34 when he won the last of his while the Spaniard is still just 23.

Nadal clearly coped better than Ferrer, who was aiming for a first ever Masters title, with the rain as until the first break it was 4-4 and 40-15 to Ferrer on his own serve.

However, he won only three more games after the heavens opened and Nadal, who has dropped only one set on clay this year, proved that he is in great shape ahead of the French Open, the second Grand Slam of the year.

Two weeks ago he stormed to victory at the Monte Carlo Masters and here he was only troubled in his three-set epic against Latvia’s Ernests Gulbis in the semi-finals.

It was his fifth win in Rome in the last six years.

Over the last six years he has won Monte Carlo six times, here and Barcelona five times and at Roland Garros will also be aiming for a fifth title.

The players were forced off by rain at 4-4 in the first set and when they came back out, Ferrer seemed to have lost focus.

He had already been under pressure on his serve before the break but at 5-5 he finally gave up a break after netting a forehand when facing his sixth break point of the set.

However, he almost broke straight back as he earned his first and only break point of the first set but he went long on a backhand return.

Nadal’s deep hitting in the next point allowed him to come forward and bury a volley before another backhand error on the return from Ferrer allowed the world number three to seal the set.

Things looked ominous for Ferrer at the beginning of the second as he dropped to 15-40 on his serve but he dug deep to hold.

However on his very next game he dropped to 0-40 only to save all three before a forehand wide and a backhand long gave up the break.

Play was then immediately suspended for the second time and the players were off court for an hour and a half but when they came back Ferrer put up little resistence.

He held his first service game but then at 2-4 he gave up a break point with a double fault and then hit a wild forehand long to allow Nadal to serve for the title.