World No 1 Novak Djokovic stretched his winning streak over Rafael Nadal to seven matches on Friday with a thrilling 7-5, 7-6 victory to book his spot in the Rome Masters semi-finals.
Djokovic, the defending champion, now faces the winner of Friday night’s late quarter-final, between Kei Nishikori of Japan and Austrian Dominic Thiem.
Nadal’s last win over the seemingly unstoppable Serbian goes back to his victory in the final of Roland Garros in 2014.
“I held my nerve at the clutch moments,” Djokovic said in an courtside television interview. “Even though I had nervy beginnings to both sets – I didn’t hold my composure at the beginning of the sets – with some good games and good play in the crucial moments, I managed to win.
“It’s a straight-sets win, but it feels like we played five sets. Winning against Nadal is the ultimate challenge on clay courts and one of the toughest challenges we have in sport.
“We must not forget he is in form. He won Monte Carlo and Barcelona and has played well the past couple of weeks. That gives me confidence for the rest of this tournament.”
As a seven-time champion in Rome, Nadal’s commands plenty of support from the fans at the Foro Italico.
Nadal looked to have the measure of Djokovic by the time he won his first break at 3-2, but it seemed only to tighten Djokovic’s resolve.
Djokovic converted a third break point to pull level in the eighth game when Nadal misfired on a forehand.
In a pulsating 12th game, Djokovic upped the pressure and was rewarded on his fourth set point. Nadal should have pulled the match level when he was 5-4 up in the second set, but a dogged Djokovic had other ideas.
With Nadal leading 5-4, Djokovic saved no less than five set points before breaking back on his first set point to level the set 5-5.
In an epic 11th game, Nadal raced to love 30 only for Djokovic to fight back and take the win after a Nadal return landed wide.
Djokovic was pumped, and despite Nadal serving to love to level 6-6, the Serb moved up a gear in the tie break.
He raced to 3-1 lead but saw Nadal defy his service game to claw his way back with a spectacular turn and shot at the net that had the crowd on its feet.
Yet Nadal was wasteful again. He squandered the chance to level when a return landed outside the tramlines, handing Djokovic a crucial 4-2 tiebreak lead from which he never recovered.
Djokovic and Nadal have now met 49 times and the Serbian has taken their career match to 26-23.
In the other half of the draw, Andy Murray overcame some trouble on his service games to beat David Goffin 6-1, 7-5 and improve his record on clay this year and last to 27-3.
“I’m getting rewarded now for the work that I put in over the years on this surface,” Murray said. “I deserve it because I have worked hard for it.”
Murray’s semi-final opponent will be French qualifier Lucas Pouille, who advanced when Argentine opponent Juan Monaco withdrew because of injury. Organisers said Monaco, who upset Stan Wawrinka in three sets on Thursday, had a problem with his left side.
In the women’s quarter-finals, Wimbledon finalist Garbine Muguruza beat Timea Bacsinszky 7-5, 6-2 and she will next meet Madison Keys, who eliminated Barbora Strycova 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.
Also, Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania defeated Misaki Doi of Japan 6-2, 7-6 and will next face top-ranked Serena Williams, who beat Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-2, 6-0.
sports@thenational.ae
Follow us on Twitter @NatSportUAE
Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/TheNationalSport