Novak Djokovic's preparations for the French Open continued apace as he beat Stanislas Wawrinka 4-6 6-3 6-3 at the Rome Masters for a 10th career title.

With a fortnight to go until Paris, Djokovic was keen to net a third title of the year but struggled to cope with Wawrinka's backhand early in the match.

However, as the rallies grew longer, unforced errors crept into Wawrinka's game and Djokovic slowly took control.

And the Serb broke three times to seal a victory in the decisive third set.

Wawrinka's cause was not helped when he called the trainer on for a lower back injury at 2-3 and a break down in the final set, sparking concerns that Djokovic could see a third successive opponent retire injured.

However, the Swiss player did not appear to be too hampered thereafter, but Djokovic maintained his lead and broke again to close out the match in little more than two hours.

That came after Wawrinka won the opening set with a solitary break, even after a nervy start saw him double fault on his first service point, but he could not maintain the pressure as Djokovic eventually saw out a comfortable victory.

"I knew he's a difficult player to play against on this surface because he's achieved his best results on it," Djokovic said after the match.

"In the end I did what I had to do. Even though I won in three sets, I'm happy in general with my performance in this tournament.

"I was aiming for Rome and Roland Garros as my two priorities in this clay-court season. But of course Hamburg is next week, so I'll try to do my best there.

"This year has been like a dream for me, but I want to continue, I want to finish the year as the number one in the race."

His third victory of 2008 - he won the Australian Open in January and the Masters Series event in Indian Wells in March - will move Djokovic within 310 points of second-ranked Rafael Nadal in the ATP rankings.

Djokovic did not face a seeded player all week, registering wins against Steve Darcis and Igor Andreev in his opening two matches and then seeing his opponents in the quarter-final and semi-final - Nicolas Almagro and Radek Stepanek - withdraw through injury.

Despite the loss, Wawrinka will move to 10th when the new rankings come out on Monday and means, with Roger Federer number one, it will mark the first time two Swiss players have been in the top 10.

And he was philosophical after the defeat, saying: "I started very well. In the first set I was always before him. I was pushing him.

"Of course I'm disappointed because I lost, but I lost against the world number three."

Elsewhere Dinara Safina has won the German Open women's singles final beating Elena Dementieva over three sets.

The Russian, seeded 13th, recovered from a sluggish start to edge out her seventh seeded compatriot 3-6 6-2 6-2.

Safina, who beat world number one Justine Henin and Serena Williams en route to the final, was erratic in the first set.

However the 22-year-old came back strongly in the second and broke twice in the decider.

She sealed the win when Dementieva netted a backhand on the first match point.

Dementieva had beaten world number two Ana Ivanovic in straight sets in their semi-final on Saturday.

And the 26-year-old produced the kind of commanding game in the early stages that had been too much for the defending champion.

Safina, with a reputation for letting her fiery temper show on court, was broken three times in the first set and her tennis racquet was the victim as she unleashed her temper in frustration after going 4-2 down.

But she recovered her composure in the second set to break her opponent three times, taking the second with a stunning ace as she improved her game dramatically.

And she showed no mercy in the third to claim the title, which moves her up to 14th in the WTA rankings, while Dementieva rises to seventh.

Dementieva paid tribute to her opponent, the daughter of her first-ever coach.

"I feel, after the first set, I let myself down," she said.

"She was serving quite well, I feel like I had some opportunities, but I didn't take my chances.

"I was watching her other games and I knew she was in good shape, she has really had a good week here."