Rafael Nadal Beats Novak Djokovic, to Seek 8th Italian Open Title in Final
In the final, Rafa is to face the winner of the match between Germany's Alexander Zverev, world No. 3, and Croatia's Marin Cilic, world No. 5.
Rome, May 19: Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal, the World No. 2, beat Serbia's Novak Djokovic 7-6 (4), 6-3 on Saturday, and is to seek his eighth Italian Open title in the final. Top seeded and a seven-time champion in Rome, Nadal needed one hour and 56 minutes to beat his Serbian opponent, currently World No. 18, reports Efe.
Nadal, the recent champion at the Monte-Carlo Masters and the Barcelona Open, earned his 25th victory out of 51 matches against Djokovic, himself a four-time champion in Rome. After their latest encounter, it should be noted that Nadal and Djokovic have faced each 51 times–which is the maximum number of times any two players have faced each other in the Open Era.
In the final, Rafa is to face the winner of the match between Germany's Alexander Zverev, world No. 3, and Croatia's Marin Cilic, world No. 5. Nadal, who recently notched his 11th Barcelona and Monte Carlo Masters titles, can replace Roger Federer at the top of the ATP rankings if he manages to lift his record eighth title in Rome.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 19, 2018 10:42 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).