diff --git a/deeptools/correlation.py b/deeptools/correlation.py
index 3f961d18..56b8d91d 100755
--- a/deeptools/correlation.py
+++ b/deeptools/correlation.py
@@ -503,8 +503,9 @@ def plot_scatter(self, plot_filename, plot_title='', image_format=None, log1p=Fa
                 top=False,
                 bottom=False,
                 direction='out')
-            for tick in ax.xaxis.get_major_ticks():
-                tick.label.set_rotation(45)
+            ax.get_xaxis().set_tick_params(
+                which='major',
+                labelrotation=45)
 
             if col != num_samples - 1:
                 ax.set_yticklabels([])
@@ -522,8 +523,9 @@ def plot_scatter(self, plot_filename, plot_title='', image_format=None, log1p=Fa
                     top=False,
                     bottom=True,
                     direction='out')
-                for tick in ax.xaxis.get_major_ticks():
-                    tick.label.set_rotation(45)
+                ax.get_xaxis().set_tick_params(
+                    which='major',
+                    labelrotation=45)
 
             else:
                 ax.set_xticklabels([])