Rome: Rafael Nadal ended a run of three consecutive losses against Alexander Zverev with a convincing 6-3, 6-4 victory against the German to reach the Italian Open semi-finals on Friday.
Zverev beat Nadal a week ago in the same series in a live series and their latest meeting was also one-sided.
Nadal chased down 4-0 in the first set and saved all eight break points he encountered in the second set.
“I played firmer than Madrid. The circumstances are different, ”Nadal said, referring to the fact that the great height of the Spanish capital has enabled Zverev to dominate more with his service.
‘Here are a few more normal conditions. I could control a little more. ‘Nadal, who wants a record extension of the tenth Roman title, will next face the great American Reilly Opelka, who reached his first Masters semi-final by Argentine qualifier Federico Delbonis 7-5, 7-6 ( 2) to conclude.
In the women’s tournament, top-ranked Ash Barty emerged from the rainy quarterfinal against 17-year-old American Coco Gauff while leading 6-4, 2-1 due to a right arm injury.
Gauff’s opponent in her first clay court semi-final will be French Open champion Iga Swiatek or two-time Roman champion Elina Svitolina.
In the second half of the draw, Karolina Pliskova, the 2019 Romanian champion, defeated French Open winner Jelena Ostapenko 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (1) last year and will play her Petra Martic.
Martic eliminated Jessica Pegula 7-5, 6-4 for her biggest result since she recently appointed former French Open champion Francesca Schiavone as her coach.
The only real moment of concern for Nadal was when he tripped over the service line while running off a false shot when serving for the first set.
The crowd of about 2,500 left a joint gasp as Nadal tumbled on the clay and writhed on his back in apparent pain.
After Nadal’s answer for an easy winner – the Spaniard still managed to get the ball over the net – Zverev jumped over the net to check out the 20-time Grand Slam champion.
However, Nadal got up, dusted him off and operated the set with his back and even the headband still covered with clay.
“Some lines are higher than the rest of the court, so if you touch the line, it’s dangerous,” Nadal said.
Zverev, the past 2017 Roman champions and Madrid winner, had numerous opportunities to recover from an early break in the second set, but Nadal each time fueled his match and ended it on his first match point with a perfectly executed serve -en- burst.
“I played a very solid game, with not too many mistakes – like I had to play,” Nadal said. “This is an important victory for me against a good player.” The 6-foot-11 (2.11-meter) Opelka, who was previously unknown for his clay-court tennis, overcame Delbonis with 18 aces to record his fourth straight victory of the week.
“I’m surprised. Clay is not really my thing,” Opelka said. “It’s probably just a fluke. But I’m fine.” Opelka also saved all four breakdown points he faced. But it was not just his service that made the difference.
The 47th place Opelka hit a delicate winner in the last game in front of the equalizer and made a difficult pass shot in the back of the track to set up the only match point.
Opelka enters Rome on a losing streak of six matches, which includes handling a match COVID-19.
‘I wish I could use that as an excuse, but the first ten weeks of the year I just did not play well. It was not COVID smooth, ”Opelka said. ‘After losing eight weeks in a row, the one thing you want to do is exercise – do not gain COVID and sit are ½ week are. But I think it worked out. “Nadal calls it a ‘big challenge’ facing Opelka, because the American has ‘almost an irreparable serve’. “I have to be ready to accept (handed out winners),” says Nadal, “and be patient with the return.”
Source: Telangana Today