World number five Rafael Nadal collected his 23rd ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title on Sunday after winning the Madrid Masters for the third time in his career. The Spaniard defeated Swiss no. 2 Stanislas Wawrinka 6-2, 6-4. This is Nadal’s 40th claycourt title and 55th overall. The 40 claycourt title haul ties him with Thomas Muster in second for the most number of trophies. The Mallorcan is now just six titles behind record-holder Guillermo Vilas who collected 46 claycourt titles during his professional career.
The fifth-ranked Nadal will still have a chance to be ranked fourth prior to the start of the Roland Garros later this month if he managed to perform well at the Rome Masters which begins this week and David Ferrer loses in earlier rounds. For now, the Mallorcan will be pondering what to do with his €638,500 prize money. Wawrinka received €313,070 and with 600 ranking points added, he is assured to make a return to the world’s top ten once the ATP Rankings are updated on Monday.
