Novak Djokovic continued his dominance against Rafael Nadal on Friday, defeating his rival in the quarterfinals of the Italian Open.
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Serbian world No. 1 Novak Djokovic got off to a bad start against Brazil’s Thomaz Bellucci, but he rallied for a 0-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory Thursday night to set up a quarterfinal showdown against seven-time champion and world No. 5 Rafael Nadal in the Rome Masters quarterfinals. In the longest game of the match, Andy converted his 5th break point to go 6-5 in front (5th straight break and 7th in the last 8 games) and he sealed the match with a solid service game.
While Djokovic has dominated Nadal in recent months, the Spaniard has been on an upward curve, and this contest was their closest one for some time.
Nadal wasted five set points in the second set.
Djokovic said he was seeing the ball “like a watermelon”, and admitted: “It was a complete Bellucci storm and I was blown away from the court”. “So I’m going to take this as a boost of confidence, no doubt, for the rest of this tournament, and then of course for French Open”.
“I knew I wasn’t good enough for any result here, so that’s why I hope you don’t read into it so much, and I don’t”, Federer said.
World number 13 Goffin produced a good comeback in the second set and briefly threatened to take the match to a decider, but second seed Murray was able to hold on and book a meeting with France’s Lucas Pouille.
“It’s bothering me but it didn’t really bother me too much at all”.
Thiem’s quarter-final opponent was sixth seed Kei Nishikori, who beat Richard Gasquet 6-1, 6-4.
Djokovic should off his defense, his speed and quickness to get the job done.
After a 72-minute first set, a spectacular final point prompted jubilation from the Serb.
Kyrgios needed treatment during the second set and there was further pain to come as Nadal broke for 2-1 in the third with a curling forehand victor, sending him on his way to victory.
Federer admitted he nearly withdrew from the second successive tournament due to back problems after defeating Alexander Zverev in the second round, and the issue was still troubling him as he suffered a straight-sets defeat to Dominic Thiem.
With strong winds whipping mists of dust into the players’ faces, delaying play on several occasions during the second set, Goffin began playing more aggressively, pressurising Murray’s forehand.
Rome marks only the fourth tournament of the season for Federer, who underwent knee surgery in early February, the first operation of his career, and he pulled out of Madrid last week due to back pain. He’ll return to No. 2 in the rankings ahead of Roger Federer on Monday.
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If Djokovic reaches the Italian Open finals, he will likely meet Andy Murray, whom he beat in the finals at Madrid a week ago. When Jo-Wilfried Tsonga withdrew, Pouille subbed in, and he now has a winnable match in the quarterfinals.
