For the 39th time in their storied rivalry, the top two players in the world Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer will cross paths to determine who will lift the Internazionali BNL d’Italia title in 2015. For Federer, it is an opportunity to win one of the two remaining title on the tour that he has not lifted, while Djokovic will be in search of a fourth title in Rome. Federer leads the head-to-head series 20-18.

 

Top seed Novak Djokovic secured a straight sets win over David Ferrer to put himself one win away from a fourth title in Rome. He beat the Spaniard 6-4, 6-4 in a contest where he struck 26 winners to close out the match in one hour and 35 minutes.

“He’s a great competitor [and] he always makes you play an extra ball,” said Djokovic. “I did face a couple of break points, especially in the second set where maybe I was a little bit fortunate. I just found the way to dig my way through and [I] just played well enough to break him in both sets when it was most needed.”

 

While he had to deal with a thunderous start from Stan Wawrinka, Federer was anle to weather the storm early and never looked back en route to the straight sets win. After going down 0-3 in the opening set, Federer won six of the next seven games to snatch the set before cruising through the second set to close out the match 6-4, 6-2.

“Stan played well in the first set,” said Federer. “In the second set he had a sort of breakdown. He wasn’t serving his best. I was definitely able to take advantage of it. He’s got a good opportunity next week (in Geneva). He’s in the right direction and obviously the win against Rafa was massive for him and his confidence. His game is there. I was very happy how I played. I was able to impose my game. I had a sort of breakdown too but I’ll try not to let it happen tomorrow.”

The latest chapter in the remarkable rivalry between Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer will be written on Sunday afternoon in Rome, as the two top competitors will cross paths once again in the final of the tournament.They’ve already met twice this season and have split those meetings; Federer won the Dubai title while Djokovic lifted the Indian Wells trophy. Now they will contest a mini-rubber match to determine who will take the lead in their series this season and steal the momentum edge ahead of Roland Garros.