Italian Open men's final pushed back to Monday

May 20, 2012 - 7:10 PM Rome, Italy (Sports Network) - Rain has pushed the final of the Italian Open back to Monday, giving Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal an extra day of rest to prepare for their 32nd all-time meeting and third of 2012.

The titans have split this year's two matchups -- Djokovic claiming a four-set triumph in the Australian Open final and Nadal rolling to a 6-3, 6-1 dismantling of the world's top-ranked player just a few weeks ago in the Monte Carlo title match.

Nadal snapped a seven-match losing streak -- all coming in finals since the start of the 2011 season -- in the series and improved to 17-14 against the Serb with the Monte Carlo rout. Included in Djokovic's run of seven straight wins was a 6-4, 6-4 victory last year in Rome, ending Nadal's two-year reign.

The two have combined for the last seven Rome crowns, as Djokovic claimed the 2008 title to interrupt Nadal's streak. The super Spaniard won three Rome titles in a row from 2005-07.

Nadal advanced to this year's final with a 7-6 (8-6), 6-0 semifinal victory over countrymate David Ferrer on Saturday, while Djokovic toppled Roger Federer, 6-2, 7-6 (7-4).

Officials considered starting the men's final Sunday evening after rain and a lengthy women's final between Maria Sharapova and Li Na earlier in the day. Sharapova gutted out a 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) win in a match that took nearly three hours of court time and was delayed by about two hours by rain before the start of the third-set tiebreaker.

After discussing and agreeing to a start time with both camps, rain again began to fall and the match was rescheduled for Monday.

The winner of the final will earn $595,000.