ATP Masters Rome: semi-finals! Nadal takes revenge on Zverev
Rafael Nadal has moved into the semifinals of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Rome as the second player. The nine-time champion in the Foro Italico defeated Alexander Zverev 6: 3 and 6: 4.
by Jens Huiber
last edit: May 14, 2021, 02:17 pm
Here you can read the match in the live ticker!
Zverev made a veritable false start exactly one week after his quarter-final win in Madrid against Nadal: The German was quickly 4-0 down and only managed one rebreak in the first round. At the end of the sentence there was a moment of shock when Nadal got stuck on the T-line while running through a stop from Zverev and fell. The record winner of the Italian Open shook himself briefly and then served to make it 6: 3.
In the second set, Zverev had a chance to take the lead with a break when the score was 2: 1. Nadal turned the 0:40 in his favor, however, and took the break to 3: 2. Moments later, Zverev left out two options for a comeback. A week ago, Alexander Zverev hit Rafael Nadal on the ashes for the first time, this time he couldn't get a foot in the door. Although Nadal kept leaving this open a crack. This was also the case in the very last game, when Zverev initially had the 15:40 on the racket - but put the backhand shot just behind the baseline.
Nadal, however, hit a backhand in the next rally. Break chance for Zverev - and the German's forehand ball flew out of the way via the net tape. Nadal saved the next chance for Ausglauch with a fantastic stop, not the first in this high-class match. After exactly two hours of play, Nadal had his first match point. And used it to 6: 4 with a serve-and-volley combination.
Tsitsipas challenges Djokovic
In the semifinals, Reilly Opelka, the tournament's surprise man, is waiting. The American defeated Federico Delbonis 7: 5 and 7: 6 (2) and reached the semifinals for the first time at a Masters 1000 event.
In the two outstanding quarter-finals, world number one Novak Djokovic will meet Stefanos Tsitsipas, Andrey Rublev will play against Dominic Thiem's conqueror, Andrey Rublev, in the evening.
Here the single tableau in Rome
rommap