Italian Open: Iga Swiatek will play Karolina Pliskova in Rome final
French Open champion Iga Swiatek wins two matches in a day to set up an Italian Open final against Karolina Pliskova in Rome.
French Open champion Iga Swiatek wins two matches in a day to set up an Italian Open final against Karolina Pliskova in Rome.
Rafael Nadal extended his perfect Internazionali BNL d’Italia semi-final record to 12-0 on Saturday with a 6-4, 6-4 victory against Reilly Opelka.
The nine-time champion claimed a single break in each set to move one win away from a record-equalling 36th ATP Masters 1000 title. Nadal is now also within touching distance of winning a single tour-level event on 10 or more occasions for the fourth time. The Spaniard already owns 13 Roland Garros crowns, 12 Barcelona trophies and 11 Monte-Carlo titles.
[WATCH LIVE 1]After saving two match points against Denis Shapovalov in the third round and nine of the 10 break points he faced against Alexander Zverev in the quarter-finals, Nadal continued to find his best tennis in critical moments against Opelka. The second seed saved four break points at 2-1 in the first set and broke serve in two of the three games where he earned a break point to advance to the championship match.
“I did the thing that I had to do today,” Nadal said in his post-match interview. “It is not an easy, beautiful match to play and, [against] a player like Reilly, [you aren’t going to] have rhythm. You know you are going to have just a few options on your return and you know he can play very aggressive from the baseline. That is what happened at the beginning of the match. He had some options [for the] break and it was super important for me to save those moments.”
Opelka had not dropped serve en route to the semi-finals, having saved all six break points he had faced across his opening four matches. The American’s low first-serve percentage (52%) gave Nadal a chance to extend rallies and the Mallorcan used his opportunities well to reach a record-equalling 52nd Masters 1000 final.
Nadal’s semi-final victory marked a milestone moment in the 35-time Masters 1000 champion’s career. Nadal became the seventh man in the Open Era to contest 500 tour-level encounters on clay (458-42). The 34-year-old’s 91.6 per cent success rate, 61 titles, 81-match winning streak (2005-‘07) and 50-set winning streak (2017-‘18) are all Open Era clay-court records.
Most Open Era Clay-Court Matches (500+)
| Rank | Player | Matches | Win-Loss (%) |
| 1 | Guillermo Vilas | 854 | 681-173 (79.7%) |
| 2 | Manuel Orantes | 739 | 569-170 (77.0%) |
| 3 | Jose Higueras | 576 | 394-182 (68.4%) |
| 4 | Thomas Muster | 553 | 426-127 (77.0%) |
| 5 | Ilie Nastase | 539 | 426-113 (79.0%) |
| 6 | Eddie Dibbs | 520 | 382-138 (73.5%) |
| 7 | Rafael Nadal | 500 | 458-42 (91.6%) |
After saving four break points with strong serving at 1-2 in the first set, Nadal fired a backhand return winner and capitalised on Opelka errors to gain the only break of the first set. The five-time year-end World No. 1 took advantage of missed first serves in the second set to break through at 1-1 and he maintained his advantage on serve to reach his 12th final in Rome (9-2).
“I did a lot of things well [and played with a] good spirit during all the week,” Nadal said. “[There are] a lot of positive things I did on court this week and it is important for my confidence to be back in such an important final like this one.”
Nadal Serve Placement
– Graphic courtesy of Hawk-Eye Innovations/ATP Media
– Take a deep dive into this match with Match Insights powered by Infosys NIA
The 6’1” left-hander will meet five-time champion Novak Djokovic or Lorenzo Sonego in the final. Nadal and Djokovic have won 14 of the past 16 editions of this event and have met on eight occasions at the Foro Italico (Nadal leads 5-3). Nadal has not met Sonego on the ATP Tour.
Opelka was bidding to become the first American Masters 1000 finalist on clay since Andre Agassi lifted the 2002 Rome trophy. The American entered the tournament on a six-match losing streak and held just two wins from 12 tour level matches on clay, but he claimed four straight-sets victories to reach his maiden Masters 1000 semi-final in Rome.
Nadal Return Hit Points
Did You Know?
Nadal owns a combined 13-1 record against the three tallest players on the ATP Tour. The Spaniard leads his ATP Head2Head rivalries against 6’11” Opelka (1-0), 6’11 Ivo Karlovic (5-0) and 6’10” John Isner (7-1).
Top seed Dominic Thiem learned his path to a second Open Parc d’Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes-Lyon trophy on Saturday, and the journey will be anything but straightforward after landing in a loaded section of the ATP 250 draw.
The Mutua Madrid Open semi-finalist will be seeking his 18th tour-level title after taking a wild card into Lyon. Thiem, the 2018 champion, will start in the second round after a bye and awaits the winner of Frenchman Corentin Moutet and Britain’s Cameron Norrie for his opening match. He owns a 1-0 ATP Head2Head record against both players.
View Lyon Singles Draw
Further down the draw, Thiem’s section is loaded with experienced clay-courters and in-form players, led by sixth seed Jannik Sinner. The 19-year-old Italian drew one of the trickiest first-round opponents in the field: an unseeded Aslan Karatsev. The Russian defeated Sinner in their only previous meeting on his way to the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships trophy earlier this year, and they will meet on clay for the first time in Lyon.
Also in Thiem’s section, third seed Diego Schwartzman and eighth seed Karen Khachanov loom as potential semi-final opponents. Schwartzman lifted his fourth tour-level title at the Argentina Open in Buenos Aires and will start against either former World No. 7 Richard Gasquet or a qualifier. Khachanov will face French wild card Benjamin Bonzi in his opening match.
Second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas anchors the bottom half of the draw, and the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters champion could face off against a former Lyon champion in the second round. After a bye, the Greek wild card will take on the winner of Tommy Paul and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who delighted French fans with a victory in the inaugural edition of this event in 2017. Home favourite Gael Monfils, seeded fifth, also landed in Tsitsipas’ section and will take on Lloyd Harris in the first round.
Fourth seed David Goffin could face #NextGenATP Felix Auger-Aliassime in the quarter-finals, but the young Canadian will have to win a popcorn first-round encounter against Italian Lorenzo Sonego in order to get there. Fellow 20-year-old Sebastian Korda could be Auger-Aliassime’s second-round opponent, should the American move past his own tricky first-round clash against Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert.
World number one Novak Djokovic comes from a set down to beat Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas in their rain-affected Italian Open quarter-final in Rome.
Lorenzo Sonego stunned Andrey Rublev 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 on Saturday to reach his first ATP Masters 1000 semi-final at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome.
The 26-year-old saved 11 of the 13 break points he faced to overcome the Monte-Carlo runner-up in two hours and 33 minutes. Backed by a passionate home crowd on Grand Stand Arena, Sonego won 100 points compared to Rublev’s 99.
“[This is] my favorite tournament in the world, I’m with my people here,” Sonego said. “[I am] so happy for this because I played every point. I’m really happy.”
[WATCH LIVE 1]The Italian has defeated consecutive Top 10 opponents to reach the final four in the Italian capital. Sonego outlasted fourth seed Dominic Thiem 6-4, 6-7(5), 7-6(5) in a marathon three-hour, 24-minute clash on Thursday.
Sonego will face World No. 1 Novak Djokovic for a place in the championship match. The five-time champion rallied from a set and a break down to defeat Stefanos Tsitsipas 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 in a two-day match on Centre Court.
“It’s a very emotional moment for me, playing in [the] semi-finals with Novak,” Sonego said. “He’s [an] unbelievable player. He’s the best in the world. I want to do my best.”
Sonego owns a 1-0 ATP Head2Head record against the 36-time Masters 1000 champion. The Italian took advantage of a below-par performance from Djokovic in last year’s Erste Bank Open quarter-finals to record a 6-2, 6-1 win.
After heading to sleep trailing by a set and a break in his Internazionali BNL d’Italia quarter-final against Stefanos Tsitsipas, Novak Djokovic raised his game on Saturday to earn a memorable 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 comeback victory against the Greek.
The top seed returned to the court on Saturday morning with Tsitsipas serving at 6-4, 2-1, and he broke serve in two of his opening five return games to force a decider. Rain suspended play twice on Friday, but there was no denying Djokovic on Saturday. The Serbian twice recovered from a break down in the decider to reach the final four in Rome for the eighth straight year (2014-’21).
“There are many things to say about today or yesterday’s match. It kind of felt like we played two matches… The one yesterday, where he was the better player. He started better today also. I managed to somehow to hold my nerves [and] break his serve in the important moments in the second and third sets,” Djokovic said in his post-match interview.
“The support of the crowd was amazing. It was great to play in front of a crowd. [It was a] fantastic atmosphere. It was a bit of luck, a bit of mental strength and the right tactics at the right time. One shot, not even a point, one shot really decided the winner today. I am just glad to be on the better side.”
[WATCH LIVE 1]This is Djokovic’s fourth straight ATP Head2Head triumph against Tsitsipas. The World No. 1 owns a 5-2 advantage against the 22-year-old, which includes an unbeaten 3-0 record on clay.
Tsitsipas made a strong start after the resumption of play to move into a 4-2 lead in the second set. But Djokovic soon raised his level in return games. The defending champion won two marathon games on Tsitsipas’ serve to push the match to a deciding set. Across return games at 4-3 and 6-5, Djokovic earned a combined nine break points. The 18-time Grand Slam champion used his forehand to break through on both occasions, ripping winners up the line to level the match.
Tsitsipas twice led by a break in the deciding set and served for the match at 5-4, but Djokovic rallied on both occasions to take a 6-5 lead. As Tsitsipas served to force a final-set tie-break, the World No. 1 fired a backhand winner down the line and played with consistent depth to extract crucial Tsitsipas errors.
“[I had to dig] very deep. Without a doubt, until the last shot I didn’t know whether I was going to win but I believed that I could,” Djokovic said. “You can always fight, give your best and let God decide who takes the win. [Stefanos] was playing well. He is in fantastic shape, obviously winning Monte-Carlo and coming off of finals in Barcelona… I am just really, really glad to overcome this challenge. It was probably the toughest match of the year for me so far.”
Later today Djokovic will play Italian Lorenzo Sonego, who upset seventh-seeded Russian Andrey Rublev, for a place in the championship match. Sonego recovered from a set down to defeat the Monte-Carlo runner-up 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 on Grand Stand Arena.
Tsitsipas was aiming to earn his second victory against a World No. 1. The 2019 Rome semi-finalist beat Djokovic when the Serbian was ranked No. 1 at the 2019 Rolex Shanghai Masters.
From goalkeeper and salad ingredient comparisons to a McDonald’s confession, ATP Tour players have shared memorable quotes these past two weeks from Madrid and Rome.
Can you remember who said what? Was it Marin Cilic, Novak Djokovic or Gael Monfils who enjoyed a recent reunion with Andy Murray at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia? Who called it “one of the biggest wins of my career” to beat Rafael Nadal “in his house” at the Mutua Madrid Open?
Take the quiz and prove how much you remember! (We won’t set a timer on this one, in case you want to do a little bit of research… ?)
Rafael Nadal was delighted with his performance at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia on Friday, where he snapped his three-match losing streak against Alexander Zverev to reach his 12th semi-final in Rome.
Just one week after his quarter-final loss to the German at the Mutua Madrid Open, the 34-year-old was able to turn the tables on his Top 10 rival and consistently find his best tennis under pressure. Nadal found himself in trouble on multiple occasions against the in-form Madrid champion, but he was able to save nine of the 10 break points he faced with his attacking strategy from the baseline.
“I played much better than yesterday. I did a lot of things well [and I was] playing much more solid. I think I played one of [my] more solid matches on clay this year against a very tough opponent,” Nadal said.
“It’s a great victory for me. Of course it’s important because under pressure [and in] tough moments, sometimes I lost important points [in the] past couple of weeks. Today, yesterday [and] before yesterday too, I was able to manage [these situations] well. [I was able] to [absorb] the pressure, to put one more ball in.”
A tall task stands between Nadal and a place in his 12th Rome final. That task is 6’11” American Reilly Opelka. The World No. 47 is yet to drop a set this week and has struck 77 aces, compared to just four double faults, across his four wins in the Italian capital.
“[Reilly is] a very tough opponent to play. Super difficult. He has [a] huge, huge serve,” Nadal said. “I need to be very focused with my serve and try to give myself some chances on the return… He’s able to play aggressive from the baseline too, so I need to play well. [It is] going to be a tough one, of course, but [it is the] semi-finals of a Masters 1000, what can you expect?”
[WATCH LIVE 1]Following the match, Nadal was reminded of one of his most memorable victories at the Foro Italico. Exactly 15 years ago, the Spaniard saved two championship points to defeat Roger Federer 6-7(0), 7-6(5), 6-4, 2-6, 7-6(5) in the 2006 championship match.
“We [have had] some great battles here in Rome… I think we enjoyed [the 2006 final], both of us, even if that day was for me,” Nadal said. “We [have] played some great matches [against] each other, and this one [is] one of the longest that we [have] played.
“I think he played a good match. I was lucky in the fifth [set]. [They are] good memories. The best thing for me, without a doubt, is [that] 15 years later [I am] still here. [It is] something unexpected for a lot of people, and for me too.”
After rain washed out half a day’s play at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, Semi-final Saturday will prove to be a hectic affair as six players are set to take the court at the Foro Italico and only two will emerge with spots in the championship match.
Second seed Rafael Nadal booked a first-time meeting against big-serving Reilly Opelka in the semi-finals, and the winner will have to wait to learn his final opponent. Top seed Novak Djokovic and fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas were locked in their quarter-final clash when rain halted play, while seventh seed Andrey Rublev and Lorenzo Sonego were waiting in the wings. The quarter-final winners will have to do double duty and contest a semi-final match later in the day for a place in the final.
Unseeded Opelka has served up 77 aces on his way to his first ATP Masters 1000 semi-final, and he got there without dropping a set. The American is by no means fond of the red dirt, and he tried to brush off his career’s best result as ‘probably just a fluke’ after his quarter-final victory over Argentine qualifier Federico Delbonis.
“I am surprised [to reach my first Masters 1000 semi-final here]. Clay is not really my thing,” Opelka said in his post-match interview. “[It is] not much of an American thing. It is probably just a fluke, but I’ll run with it.”
Opelka’s performances this week are proving otherwise, despite arriving in Rome on a six-match losing streak. It was by no means a cakewalk, as he had to manoeuvre past experienced clay-courters and in-form players including Italian wildcard Lorenzo Musetti and Dubai champion Aslan Karatsev along the way.
The name Opelka is almost synonymous with booming serves, and he’ll have to hold for his life and back up his best shot to keep the pressure on Nadal on Saturday. But the key for the 6’11” American this week has actually been improving his overall movement around the court.
“I hit a breaking point last week where I just felt slow on the court,” Opelka told ATPTour.com. “I’ve been in the gym a lot, I’ve been working on my speed and footwork, but this was something that was more technical about my movement.
“I watched a lot of film of myself and I’m really happy with some habits that I broke pretty quickly. A lot of times my first step to a ball was a shuffle, a sidestep, and that’s just wrong. I’m going to be late and then I’ll be behind the whole time. Breaking that habit and making sure I’m turning my hips and running to the ball, just playing with some more urgency [and being] just more organised with my footwork has been huge.”
At this stage of the tournament, it’s usually Opelka’s opponent Nadal who can boast reaching an ATP Masters 1000 semi-final without dropping a set. That hasn’t been the case this week for the nine-time Rome champion, who has faced stern competition and had to save match points on his way to the last four.
[WATCH LIVE 1]But champions adjust, and Nadal has had to dig deep to overcome #NextGenATP Italian Jannik Sinner 7-5, 6-4 and tapped into Plan A, B, and to come back from a set and match points down against 13th seed Denis Shapovalov 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(3). That tactical thinking should come in handy against Opelka, a player who would likely tee off against the deep returns Nadal has been hitting all week but could struggle if the World No. 3 put his movement to the test by pulling him away from the baseline.
Nadal’s most emphatic win of the week came against sixth seed Alexander Zverev, the player who defeated him en route to the Mutua Madrid Open title. Nadal needed two sets and two hours to claim his revenge with a confidence-boosting 6-3, 6-4 victory.
“It’s a great victory for me,” Nadal said. “Of course it’s important because [being] under pressure, under tough moments [was when] sometimes I lost important points last couple of weeks. Today, yesterday [against Shapovalov], before yesterday too, I was able to manage it well. To hold well the pressure, to put one more ball in. I think my movements have been improving.
“I’m super happy, because after the battle yesterday, to be able to be on court against a player like Sascha, he had [a] tough match too, but he’s more than 10 years younger than me… And I was able to be fit, to be ready, and [that is] something gives me confidence. So I’m very happy for that.”
Earlier in the day, last year’s champion Djokovic will try to come back from a set and a break down against Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters winner Tsitsipas, who was leading 6-4, 2-1 on Friday before rain washed out play. Djokovic leads Tsitsipas 4-2 in their ATP Head2Head, and he won their most recent meeting on clay 6-3, 6-2, 5-7, 4-6, 6-1 in a classic Roland Garros semi-final last year.
Monte-Carlo finalist Rublev will take a 1-0 ATP Head2Head lead into his clash with home favourite Sonego after defeating the Italian 6-4, 6-4 en route to the Vienna title last year. The Russian is tied with Race leader Stefanos Tsitsipas for most wins on Tour this year (29) and would meet the Greek in the semi-finals for a tie-breaker should both win.
ORDER OF PLAY – SATURDAY, MAY 15, 2021
CENTER COURT start 11:00 am
Quarterfinals – ATP – [1] N. Djokovic (SRB) vs [5] S. Tsitsipas (GRE) 46 12
Not Before 12:00 noon
WTA MATCH
Not Before 1:00 pm
Semifinals – ATP – R. Opelka (USA) vs [2] R. Nadal (ESP)
Not Before 3:00 pm
WTA MATCH
Not Before 6:30 pm
Semifinals – ATP – [1] N. Djokovic (SRB) or [5] S. Tsitsipas (GRE) vs L. Sonego (ITA) or [7] A. Rublev (RUS)
GRAND STAND ARENA start 11:00 am
Quarterfinals – L. Sonego (ITA) vs [7] A. Rublev (RUS) 00
WTA MATCH
WTA MATCH
WTA MATCH
PIETRANGELI start 11:00 am
WTA MATCH
Quarterfinals – ATP – [4] M. Granollers (ESP) / H. Zeballos (ARG) vs [5] R. Ram (USA) / J. Salisbury (GBR) 34
Semifinals – ATP – J. Peers (AUS) / M. Venus (NZL) vs [2] N. Mektic (CRO) / M. Pavic (CRO)
Roger Federer was placed into a tough section of the Gonet Geneva Open draw on Friday, ahead of his tournament debut at the ATP 250 next week.
In a loaded top quarter, the 20-time Grand Slam champion will face Australia’s Jordan Thompson or Pablo Andujar of Spain in the second round. If he can navigate his way through that match, Federer will likely face a difficult quarter-final encounter.
Federer shares the top quarter of the draw with Santiago champion Cristian Garin and former World No. 3 Marin Cilic. Fifth seed Garin will begin his title bid against Marton Fucsovics, while Cilic will meet #NextGenATP Swiss Dominic Stephan Stricker.
Garin has been one of the most consistent performers on clay in recent years. The Chilean has collected five ATP Tour titles on the surface since 2019, which includes his home triumph in Santiago this year. Federer has also faced tough competition against Cilic in the past. The Croat earned a straight-sets win against Federer en route to the 2014 US Open title and also pushed the Swiss to five sets in the 2016 Wimbledon quarter-finals and the 2018 Australian Open championship match.
Federer has also contested three tight ATP Head2Head encounters against Fucsovics in the past. This year’s Rotterdam runner-up pushed Federer to four sets at last year’s Australian Open and reached tie-breaks in his previous two matches against the 39-year-old.
Federer will be making just his second appearance of the year in the Swiss city and will be competing on clay for the first time since Roland Garros in 2019. The top seed returned to the ATP Tour for the first time in 13 months at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in March, where he fell to eventual champion Nikoloz Basilashvili in the quarter-finals. Federer will be aiming to join Claudio Mezzadri (1987), Marc Rosset (1989) and Stan Wawrinka (2016-‘17) as the fourth Swiss player to lift the Geneva trophy.
Second seed Denis Shapovalov headlines the bottom half of the draw. The Canadian will hope to build on his strong third-round performance against Rafael Nadal in Rome this week, where he held two match points against the nine-time champion before falling a final-set tie-break.
Shapovalov will meet Stefano Travaglia or a qualifier in the second round. The 22-year-old shares the bottom half with fourth seed Grigor Dimitrov, 2019 Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters champion Fabio Fognini and eighth seed Adrian Mannarino.
In the second quarter, third seed Casper Ruud leads the way. The World No. 16 will face Tennys Sandgren or Salvatore Caruso in his tournament opener. Ruud, who is chasing his first ATP Tour title of the season, owns an 11-4 record on clay in 2021. The Norwegian has already reached three semi-finals on the surface this year in Monte-Carlo, Munich and Madrid.
