ROME TENNIS OPEN 2016 – NOVAK DJOKOVIC DEFEATS RAFA RAFAEL NADAL, ANDY MURRAY & KEI NISHIKORI ALSO WIN

Written by: Staff on 13th May 2016

ROME TENNIS OPEN 2016 - NOVAK DJOKOVIC DEFEATS RAFA RAFAEL NADAL, ANDY MURRAY & KEI NISHIKORI ALSO WIN

epa05304387 Novak Djokovic of Serbia celebrates after winning the quarter final match against Rafael Nadal of Spain in the Italian Open tennis tournament at the Foro Italico in Rome, Italy, 13 May 2016. EPA/ETTORE FERRARI |

By Ricky Dimon

Novak Djokovic beat Rafael Nadal for the seventh time in a row and has now won 15 straight sets against Nadal following a 7-5, 7-6(4) victory in the quarterfinals of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia on Friday. Djokovic recovered from a break down in each set to advance in two hours and 24 minutes. The world No. 1 will face Kei Nishikori in Saturday’s semis.

Nadal broke serve for 3-2 in the opening set and pushed his opponent to five deuces at 4-2 with a chance for a double-break lead. But Djokovic managed to hold for 3-4, broke back to even the scoreline, and maintained momentum throughout the remainder of the set. The Serb converted an incredible set point in the 12th game, punctuating it with a forehand volley winner.

In the second, Nadal got a look at five set points on his own serve at 5-4. The fifth seed could not capitalize on any of those opportunities and eventually lost a tiebreaker.

“I held my nerve at the clutch moments,”Djokovic assessed. “Even though I had nervy beginnings to both sets, with some good games and good play in the crucial moments, I managed to win. It’s a straight-[set] win, but it feels like we played five sets…. I was fortunate in important moments. I managed to take him out of his comfort zone in important moments and didn’t give him always the same look. I thought he played high quality tennis. He tried to step in. He was trying to play aggressive.

“Winning against Nadal is the ultimate challenge on clay courts and one of the toughest challenges we have in sport. I have to be very pleased with the way I handled myself in the big moments today. I won against one of my biggest rivals on his preferred surface. We must not forget he’s 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.”

Rafael Nadal of Spain returns the ball to Serbian Novak Djokovic during their quarter final match for the Italian Open Tennis Tournament at the Foro Italico in Rome, Italy, 13 May 2016. EPA/CLAUDIO ONORATI

Nadal now heads to Roland Garros, where he is a nine-time winner but failed to capture the title in 2015 for just the second time since his reign began in 2005. The Spaniard triumphed earlier on this clay-court swing in Monte-Carlo and Barcelona before falling to Andy Murray in the Madrid semifinals and then to Djokovic in Rome.

“I am so happy to be in a close match, and I have to congratulate him,” Nadal commented. “He played great. We played a beautiful match. I was a bit unlucky today. I had so many chances…. But when somebody is winning as much as him for the past years, it’s so important to [be opportunistic]. He hit great shots in important moments. That’s it.

“I’m not disappointed. I was competing at the highest level against the best player. Playing a match like this gives me confidence.”

The other semifinal will pit Murray against Lucas Pouille. Murray took care of David Goffin, while Pouille got a walkover from an injured Juan Monaco. The 22-year-old Frenchman only got into the main draw as a lucky loser when Jo-Wilfried Tsonga pulled out.