Post by mesi10 on Jan 11, 2024 4:46:13 GMT -5
The Spanish Rafa Nadal, number 2 in the ATP ranking, won this Saturday 7-6(4) and 6-3 against the Serbian Novak Djokovic and will play on Sunday the final of the 1,000th Masters in Rome, in which he will seek to win the tournament. Foro Italico for the eighth time.
Nadal, first favorite and champion in Rome in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2013, emerged winner of a battle that lasted one hour and 56 minutes and extended his outstanding record to 10-0 in the semifinals held at the Forum Italic.
The Mallorcan, recent champion in Monte Binance App Users Data Carlo and Barcelona, punished Djokovic, four-time champion in Rome (2008, 2011, 2014 and 2015), for the twenty-fifth time in his career in the 51 meetings between the two.
This Saturday was a classic of modern tennis between two players who began their rivalry at Roland Garros in 2006, when Rafa triumphed, and who in these twelve years turned it into the longest in the history of the ATP circuit (51 matches ).
Nadal, the best player of the Open Era on clay, with a record of 406 wins and 36 losses, met Djokovic again almost a year after the last time, when he beat him in the Mutua Madrid semifinal.
The Serbian fought until the end and canceled two match points, but ended up surrendering to Nadal's blows
After the last difficult year, the Serbian arrived at this semifinal with confidence and the hard-fought victory achieved in the quarterfinals against the Japanese Kei Nishikori had confirmed a notable improvement compared to his last performances.
In a completely full center court, Djokovic came out very aggressively against Nadal who immediately had to save two breaking balls in the first game, before gaining rhythm and intensity in his shots.
After containing the Serbian's momentum, Nadal was the first to break his rival's serve and took a 4-2 lead, but Djokovic broke him back at 4-5 on the scoreboard, to restore the balance and force a tiebreaker.
It was an intense battle played on a very hot day, with a temperature that exceeded 25 degrees Celsius, in which Rafa managed to emerge victorious 7-4 to win the first set in one hour and twelve minutes.
Nadal, first favorite and champion in Rome in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2013, emerged winner of a battle that lasted one hour and 56 minutes and extended his outstanding record to 10-0 in the semifinals held at the Forum Italic.
The Mallorcan, recent champion in Monte Binance App Users Data Carlo and Barcelona, punished Djokovic, four-time champion in Rome (2008, 2011, 2014 and 2015), for the twenty-fifth time in his career in the 51 meetings between the two.
This Saturday was a classic of modern tennis between two players who began their rivalry at Roland Garros in 2006, when Rafa triumphed, and who in these twelve years turned it into the longest in the history of the ATP circuit (51 matches ).
Nadal, the best player of the Open Era on clay, with a record of 406 wins and 36 losses, met Djokovic again almost a year after the last time, when he beat him in the Mutua Madrid semifinal.
The Serbian fought until the end and canceled two match points, but ended up surrendering to Nadal's blows
After the last difficult year, the Serbian arrived at this semifinal with confidence and the hard-fought victory achieved in the quarterfinals against the Japanese Kei Nishikori had confirmed a notable improvement compared to his last performances.
In a completely full center court, Djokovic came out very aggressively against Nadal who immediately had to save two breaking balls in the first game, before gaining rhythm and intensity in his shots.
After containing the Serbian's momentum, Nadal was the first to break his rival's serve and took a 4-2 lead, but Djokovic broke him back at 4-5 on the scoreboard, to restore the balance and force a tiebreaker.
It was an intense battle played on a very hot day, with a temperature that exceeded 25 degrees Celsius, in which Rafa managed to emerge victorious 7-4 to win the first set in one hour and twelve minutes.