Rafael Nadal held off Fabio Fognini in a feisty German Tennis Championships final Sunday in Hamburg to claim his 47th career clay-court title.
Fognini was denied three consecutive victories against the former world No. 1, having beaten Nadal Rio de Janeiro and Barcelona so far this year. Ultimately, the Italian came up short against the top seed, 7-5, 7-5.
Nadal's 47 clay-court titles is second only to Guillermo Vilas' 49.
It was Nadal's second title on clay this year after Buenos Aires in February. The Spaniard has 67 career titles overall. Nadal won in Hamburg in 2008.
After an angry exchange between the pair late in the second set, Nadal seemed to keep his head as a series of unforced Fognini errors handed the Spaniard his third title of 2015.
Nadal — seeking to rebuild after a surprise second-round exit at Wimbledon — and Fognini got into their angry verbal spat at the change of ends after Nadal was broken in the ninth. Nadal went on to save two set points in the next game.