Fifty matches. Twelve years. Countless memories.
Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic’s FedEx ATP Head2Head series is one of the greatest rivalries in the history of tennis, if not all sports. And while it has been 370 days since the two legends have stood across the net from one another, the world’s wait for another chapter will come to an end on Saturday.
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Nadal vs Djokovic | Zverev vs Cilic
Nadal and Djokovic will meet in the Internazionali BNL d’Italia semi-finals for a spot in the championship match at the final clay-court ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event of the season. And they will battle at the Foro Italico, where they combined to lift 11 consecutive trophies from 2005 to 2015.
“Tomorrow is going to be the ultimate challenge on clay,” Djokovic said. “Beating Rafa is a really difficult thing to do on this surface. But, I’ve done it before.”
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In fact, Djokovic has won three of the pair’s past four matches on the red dirt and seven of their past eight meetings overall, leading their series 26-24.
But Nadal is close to his top form. The Spaniard, a seven-time champion in the Italian capital, won 50 straight clay-court sets — a record for consecutive sets won on a single surface — from 2017 Roland Garros through Madrid last week, where he fell in the quarter-finals against Dominic Thiem. With his three triumphs this week, including a hard-fought win against home favourite Fabio Fognini on Thursday, Nadal is 17-1 on clay in 2018 and 21-2 overall.
On the other hand, Djokovic is into his first semi-final of the season since returning from a right elbow injury. It has not been an easy return for the four-time tournament champion, who suffered his first three-match losing streak since 2007 earlier this year.
Nevertheless, Nadal is not taking his rival lightly.
“It’s better to not play him. He’s one of the best players of history, no doubt about it,” Nadal said. “I am not this kind of stupid guy that says, ‘No, I want to play [him]’.”
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Nadal has good reason to be wary, as Djokovic has rounded into form in Rome, effortlessly transitioning from elastic defence in the back of the court to opportunistic aggression when opportunities have arisen. The Serbian beat Monte-Carlo finalist Kei Nishikori on Thursday for the second time in as many weeks, showing the intensity that helped him finish atop the year-end ATP Rankings on four occasions.
“This is what I was looking forward to. This is what I was hoping to achieve. Obviously, I don’t want to stop here,” Djokovic said. “I’m a different player today than I was in the time I was winning against him on clay. But I believe in myself. I will go out on the court trying to win… I know he’s in great form. But, look, anything is possible. I’ve been playing some good tennis — really good tennis — this week.”
It will be interesting to see how the typical in-rally patterns between the two turn out on Saturday afternoon. You can expect Nadal to go after his devastating left-handed forehand crosscourt. But over the years, Djokovic has neutralised those blows with his two-handed backhand, consistently stepping into the court and gaining control of rallies, especially when redirecting that shot down the line. However, before this week, Djokovic struggled with his court positioning, which will not be a formula for success against the top seed.
This semi-final matchup requires an extra serving of popcorn, though, for the pair’s record 51st meeting.
“When you play some matches like I played against him in our career, you are happy to be part of that,” Nadal said. “You appreciate it a lot.”
And while fans will eagerly await the writing of a new chapter in the historic rivalry, there is another exciting semi-final in store to determine who the winner will play for the trophy. Second seed Alexander Zverev, who has won 12 consecutive matches — including back-to-back titles in Munich and Madrid — takes on No. 4 seed Marin Cilic, competing in his maiden clay-court Masters 1000 semi-final.
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Zverev entered his quarter-final against 2017 Nitto ATP Finals runner-up David Goffin with a 22-set winning streak, which he extended to 23 sets. But the counter-punching Belgian forced the German to dig deep, which Zverev did, recovering an early break in the decider to move within a victory of his fifth Masters 1000 final.
“It’s going to be a very tough one,” Zverev said. “We’re not dissimilar players. We’re actually quite similar, both around two metres tall. Both serving well and actually move quite well on this surface… it’s going to be a fun one.”
Cilic arrived in Rome under a cloud of uncertainty, after losing his Istanbul opener in straight sets, and withdrawing from Madrid. But the Croatian has found his form, escaping a third-set tie-break in the second round against Ryan Harrison before ousting the talented Benoit Paire and No. 10 seed Pablo Carreno Busta.
“It’s important to get enough rest and be really fresh tomorrow,” Cilic said. “Hopefully I can lift up [my level] again.”
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