Rafael Nadal defeated defending championNovak Djokovic in the final, 7–5, 1–6, 6–3 to win the men's singles tennis title at the2021 Italian Open.[1] It was his record-extending tenthItalian Open title and record-equaling 36th and lastMasters 1000 title overall (matching Djokovic's tally). Nadal saved two match points en route to the title, in the third round againstDenis Shapovalov.[2] This marked the fourth tournament that Nadal had won on 10 or more occasions (in addition to theFrench Open, theMonte-Carlo Masters, and theBarcelona Open), making him the only men’s tennis player to win more than 2 tournaments 10 or more times.[3]
It was Djokovic's sixth runner-up finish at the Italian Open, a record for the most runners-up finishes at one event on theATP Tour (Djokovic equaled this record later that year at theUS Open).[4]
^Points earned from2019 and2020 tournaments will be dropped depending on the best result during those periods. Only 2020 points will be dropped by 50%, including their 2020 points whichever is greater. 2019 points which are higher will still be dropped as normal.