Rafeal Nadal defeated fellow Spaniard David Ferrer 7-5, 6-2 at the Rome Masters in Italy on Sunday.

Nadal extended his record to 10-0 on clay this year and by doing so equaling Andre Agassi's tally of 17 Master titles.

The Rome Masters is an important warmup for the French Open, which starts May 23 and Nadal will be hoping to build on this momentum. Nadal won four consecutive titles at Roland Garros before being stunned by Robin Soderling in the fourth round last year in Paris.

Two weeks ago he won the Monte Carlo Masters to end an 11-month title drought. “I didn’t play at the level I did in Monte Carlo, but I’m still winning and that’s the important thing,” Nadal said. “I’m probably more happy winning without playing (my) best. It was more of a mental thing.”

The match against compatriot Ferrer was interrupted twice by rain and Ferrer indicated that it affected him.

“Maybe the court was slower and I had problems to (end) the points,” Ferrer said. “Of course, Rafael had good chances in the important moments. It’s difficult against him, but I’m happy with my game.”