Encouraged to enter the semi-final with impressive form, having lost only 6 games since the beginning of the tournament and regularly winning every set, Nadal was determined to repay Stefanos Tsitsipas - who eliminated him in the Madrid Master semi-final a week ago.
The "occuppers" took the lead when they successfully broke the first serve game of the young Greek tennis player with a very difficult winning shot from the back of the field. Taking full advantage, Nadal held each game he passed the ball to close the first set at a score of 6-3. In the final game, Tsitsipas took a 30-0 lead but was helpless and was scored 4 points in a row by Nadal.
The old scenario repeated in set 2, Nadal quickly won a break-point in the third game after 2 consecutive missed shots by the opponent. In a week where the Spaniard had a winning rate of up to 97% (31/32 games), there was no chance for Tsitsipas to correct his mistake.
6-4 in set 2 and a ticket to the final for Rafael Nadal after 1 hour and 42 minutes of competition.
Winning the 11th Rome Masters semi-final in a row, the No. 2 seed advanced to the 50th final of his career. His opponent is none other than Novak Djokovic.
After lasting two and a half hours against Del Potro yesterday, Nole went through another two-and-a-half-hour "guest" to overwhelm Diego Schwartzman.
Winning the only break-point to win the first set 6-3 but Djokovic could not maintain stability in the remaining time. He took 2 games to deliver the ball and let the Argentine attract a tie-break.
Here, Schwartzman scored a 6-point streak to win 7-2, bringing the match to a level playing field.
The bravery of the No. 1 seed spoke up in the deciding set. Not overwhelming, Djokovic recreated the first set scenario by successfully taking advantage of the only break-point he had earned, thereby leading to a 2-1 overall victory (6-3, 6-7, 6-3).
Struggling to overcome Schwartzman, Djokovic stayed at Rome Masters for the 9th time until the last day and the 49th ATP 1000 final. The "peak" match between Djokovic and Nadal will take place at 9:00 p.m. tonight (May 19, Vietnam time)
- The 5th final between Nadal and Djokovic in Rome. This year is the 10th anniversary of the first time the two tennis players have met here (2009).
- The head-to-head record in Rome is 4-3 in favor of Nadal (Nadal won in 2007, 2009, 2012 and 2018 while Djokovic won in 2011, 2014 and 2016)
- For the 54th time, Djokovic is leading 28-25 in head-to-head record and beat Nadal in his most recent meeting9/9.
- The confrontation between the two players with the most Masters 1000 titles today (33 titles).
