Rome, May 17 (IANS): Despite the hard-fought three-set victory over arch-rival Novak Djokovic of Serbia in the Italian Open final on Sunday, Spaniard Rafael Nadal continues to be at third spot on the ATP rankings, released on Monday.

Djokovic is way ahead of the pack with 11,063 points. Russian Daniil Medvedev continues to be ranked No. 2 in the world with 9,793 points, just 163 points ahead of Nadal, who would be aiming for a record 21st Grand Slam title at the French Open starting on May 24.

While no movement was seen in the top 10, it was a historic last week for Nadal in Rome in several ways. The Spaniard not only won the Italian Open for a record 10th time, he also tied Djokovic's record for most career Masters 1000 titles at 36.

Nadal's 7-5, 1-6, 6-3 victory over the Serb in the Italian Open final was his 22nd career win over a reigning No. 1, more than any man or woman in ATP or WTA rankings history, according to tennis.com

A day after achieving so many historic feats, Nadal started off his 817th career week in the top 10, passing American legend Jimmy Connors for the second-most career weeks in the top 10 in ATP rankings history.

The Spaniard now trails Switzerland's Roger Federer, who is currently ranked eighth in the world.

While Federer has spent 948 weeks among the top 10, Nadal has 817. Djokovic is a distant fifth with 683 weeks.