Rafael Nadal won 50 sets in a row on clay, a record for consecutive sets on a single surface, before falling in last week’s Madrid quarter-finals. Nevertheless, the Spaniard entered the Rome semi-finals with a 17-1 record on the surface in 2018. It was clear that the top seed was in form.
But longtime rival Novak Djokovic, who had won three of their past four FedEx ATP Head2Head meetings on clay, stood across the net. And the four-time Rome champion played arguably the best match of his comeback from a right elbow injury, channeling the level and intensity that helped him to four year-end No. 1 finishes in the ATP Rankings. It still was not enough.
Nadal outdueled Djokovic in an epic battle on Court Centrale at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, 7-6(4), 6-3 to break a tie with Roger Federer for the most ATP World Tour Masters 1000 match wins (356) in history.
Nadal is now one win — against last week’s Madrid champion Alexander Zverev or first-time clay-court Masters 1000 semi-finalist Marin Cilic — from regaining the No. 1 spot in the ATP Rankings after his Madrid loss sent him to No. 2 behind Federer this week.
Both players entered the match having never lost in the semi-finals at the Foro Italico, but Nadal (10-0 in Rome SF) moves within one victory of lifting an eighth trophy in the Italian capital, while Djokovic (8-1 in Rome SF) bows out with renewed confidence after reaching his first semi-final of the season and digging deep to challenge the Spaniard. The left-handed 31-year-old now trails 26-25 in the pair’s record FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry.
More to come...
from Tennis - ATP World Tour https://ift.tt/2Ldb8Xe
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