Nadal beats Djokovic to reach 10th Rome Masters final

ROME: Rafael Nadal closed in on an eighth Rome Masters title as he dismissed old rival Novak Djokovic 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 on Saturday to reach the final for a record-extending 10th time.The last-four success will give the Spanish top seed added confidence ahead of the French Open, where he has won a record 10 titles.Nadal, still unbeaten in semi-finals at the Foro Italico, unleashed a trademark clay-court attack after winning a tight first set lasting well over an hour.“I need to be able to play my best tomorrow,” Nadal said of a Sunday final against either defending champion Alexander Zverev or Croatian Marin Cilic.“I’m very happy with my game. It all worked for me, the tactics, the shots.”The 31-year-old world number two cut the deficit in his head-to-head series with Djokovic to 26-25, after their 51st meeting since first facing off in 2006.But the Serb complained afterwards about poor scheduling which affected his preparation, playing a late-afternoon quarter-final on Friday before returning to court on Saturday mid-afternoon.“I don’t want to seem like I’m complaining about losing the match because of the schedule. But having to end at night and coming back to play early in the day affects a lot,” he said.“Nobody has ever, ever reached me in my entire career to ask me about what I think would be the best scheduling. I don’t think that is fair, we will address it in the next players’ council.”Djokovic has rediscovered his form this week after months of elbow injury problems, including an operation earlier this year.Nadal now stands 10-8 over Djokovic in semi-finals, with the pair having played each other at all four Grand Slam tournaments, the ATP Finals, Davis Cup, the Olympic Games along with eight of the nine Masters 1000 events.Nadal took 73 minutes to win the opening set after leading 5-2.But to take the early lead, the top seed had to avoid being reeled in by Djokovic.Djokovic, a four-time Rome winner and former world number one, battled back to 5-5 with a break of the Spaniard before the set went to a tie-break, which Nadal took on the first of two set points with a backhand winner down the line.Nadal took a 2-1 lead in the second set with another break of Djokovic and never lost control.The top seed kept his nose ahead until the end, winning on his second match point as he fired another untouchable backhand.Earlier, defending champion Elina Svitolina reached the final after putting in a clinical performance to beat unseeded Estonian Anett Kontaveit 6-4, 6-3.The Ukrainian fourth seed bided her time and struck at key moments in the match in a display that bodes well for her chances at the French Open later this month.The 22-year-old Kontaveit offered stiff resistance, hitting 24 winners to Svitolina’s 18, but her opponent converted four of her five break point opportunities while making seven fewer unforced errors in a contest of tight margins.Svitolina, who beat former world number one Angelique Kerber in the quarter-finals, started well, breaking early in the first set to go 2-0 up, but Kontaveit held her nerve to take the next three games and edge in front.With the opener tied at 3-3, Svitolina made her move, coming to the net behind a deep cross-court forehand and displaying a delicate touch to guide a volley into the open court and coax another break point from her opponent that she converted.The 23-year-old then saved two break points on her own serve and held on to take the opener.With Svitolina’s speed proving decisive, Kontaveit was forced to mix things up, but the baseliner’s touch deserted her at times in the second set, allowing the speedy Ukrainian to run down a couple of poorly disguised drop shots.The world number four rode her forehand to an early break in the second set, taking a 2-1 lead, and won the match on her opponent’s serve, converting her second match point with a deep forehand that left Kontaveit flailing.

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