Novak gets his hands on the trophy

"It was such a strong tournament with so many good players."

The final, shortened from the best of five sets to three because of the threat of rain, spluttered into life with Novak taking a 2-1 lead before the match was halted after just 11 minutes of play by a downpour.

When the players returned to the court nearly six hours later, Novak immediately broke the world number five as he sped through the opening set.

Ferrero, a French Open semi-finalist and the winner of three clay court events this season, battled back to level the match by taking the second set 7-5 in the tie-break.

Despair for Ferrero

With the deciding set going with serve for the first 11 games, Novak, runner-up with partner David Rikl in the Wimbledon doubles last week, finally wrestled control of the match by carving out two break points.

The long day ended in anti-climax, as Ferrero double-faulted on match point, throwing his racquet across the court after gifting Novak his fourth career win.