Novak Djokovic moved one win away from a record-breaking 36th ATP Masters 1000 trophy on Sunday with a 7-5, 6-3 victory against Casper Ruud in the Internazionali BNL d’Italia semi-finals.

The World No. 1 saved two set points in the first set and fired 12 aces to improve to 10-1 in Rome semi-finals. Djokovic will attempt to break a tie with fellow 35-time Masters 1000 champion Rafael Nadal when he faces Diego Schwartzman or Denis Shapovalov in the championship match on Monday.

“It is super important [to win the title]. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be here,” said Djokovic on court after his win. “I don’t take anything for granted, even after 15 years on the Tour, I still enjoy it.

“I still have a hunger for the titles and putting myself in a position to fight for the title is exactly where I want to be.”

Most ATP Masters 1000 Titles

Djokovic equalled Nadal’s record Masters 1000 title haul by completing his second Career Golden Masters at the Western & Southern Open last month. Djokovic is a four-time champion in Rome.

The Serbian is now 30-1 in 2020. Only in 2011, when he won his opening 41 matches of the year, has Djokovic reached 30 victories quicker.

Djokovic’s Best Season Starts (After 31 Matches)

The key moment of the match came when Ruud held two set points when serving for the first set at 5-4, 40/15. Djokovic ripped a crosscourt backhand to save the first set point and reached deuce after carving a backhand drop shot. The Serbian never looked back to claim victory in his first ATP Head2Head contest against the Norwegian.

Djokovic will attempt to triumph at the Foro Italico for the first time since 2015 on Monday. The 33-year-old has finished as runner-up at the event in three of the past four years, losing to Andy Murray (2016), Alexander Zverev (2017) and Nadal (2019) in finals.

The five-time year-end No. 1 owns a combined 9-0 ATP Head2Head record against potential final opponents Schwartzman and Shapovalov. Djokovic is unbeaten in five matches against Shapovalov and owns a 4-0 record against Schwartzman. The Serbian has beaten each player once at this event.

“Both guys are in tremendous form,” said Djokovic. “Diego played the match of his life last night and he also is most comfortable on clay. Denis has improved a lot on clay over the past few years and he has got a powerful game… Whatever comes my way, I will be ready and hopefully I can get my hands on the trophy.”

Ruud was attempting to reach his third final in four clay events this year. The World No. 34 owns a tour-leading 12 wins on the surface this season (12-3). Ruud was one of the form players of February’s ‘Golden Swing’, capturing his maiden ATP Tour crown at the Argentina Open in Buenos Aires and finishing as a runner-up in Santiago.

The 21-year-old made a fast start on Centrale, anticipating Djokovic’s tactics and covering the court with great speed to gain an early break. The 2019 Next Gen ATP Finals qualifier played with confidence on his forehand and saved two break points at 3-2, but he failed to convert two set points when serving for the set at 5-4. Djokovic increased his aggression on his backhand side and landed a drop shot winner, a tactic he has used throughout the week, before earning his first break of the match.

Djokovic served well under pressure to save three break points in a 12-minute game at 5-5 and, with added confidence, attacked his opponent’s backhand to reach set point in the following game. At that moment, Ruud attempted to strike his 13th forehand winner of the set, but misfired on his favoured shot to hand Djokovic a one-set lead.

Djokovic continued to serve with power and accuracy to escape danger early in the second set and gained the first break at 3-2 with powerful groundstrokes. The 17-time Grand Slam champion struck three consecutive winners into Ruud’s forehand corner and capitalised on a Ruud forehand error to move two games from victory. Djokovic earned success driving his backhand up the line in the closing stages and booked his place in the final when Ruud failed to control a backhand return.

”It was a tough two-setter today. It was over two hours for two sets,” said Djokovic. “I definitely had to work hard for most of the points and it was really anybody’s game in the first set… It was really windy.

“To be honest, it was probably the windiest day since we arrived to Rome and it was quite tough to handle that. But the second set was much better, I got used to it and started swinging through the ball better.”

After nine-time champion Rafael Nadal’s surprising loss in the Internazionali BNL d’Italia quarter-finalson Saturday evening, World No. 1 Novak Djokovic is the clear favourite in Rome.

Djokovic, who is currently tied with Nadal at a record 35 Masters 1000 titles each, is two wins from standing alone atop that leaderboard. For now, though, the top seed will be focussed on his semi-final opponent, though. The Serbian will have to get past first-time Masters 1000 semi-finalist Casper Ruud when they meet for the first time.

“He’s a clay-court specialist. Obviously, he’s very good on different surfaces, but clay is where he feels most comfortable and where he had his best results,” Djokovic said. “He’s relatively young, as well. He’s making his way up the ranking scale. It’s really impressive to see him in [the] semi-finals, but at the same time, it’s kind of expected, knowing how well he can play on this surface.

“Hopefully we can have a good match. I’m going to have to do my video analysis and homework with my coach, with my team, and get ready for that one.”

Djokovic enters his 11th semi-final at the Foro Italico with a 29-1 record in 2020. Ruud will try to become only the second player to defeat the World No. 1 in a Rome semi-final (9-1) in the Italian capital. The Serbian’s only loss at this stage of the Italian Masters 1000 came against Nadal in 2018.

The 35-time Masters 1000 titlist has been tested in his opening three matches in Rome. Djokovic needed 87 minutes to win the first set of his third-round clash against Filip Krajinovic and was broken on four occasions in his three-set quarter-final against Dominik Koepfer.

Djokovic will hope to rely on the support of a small Italian crowd on Sunday. Up to 1,000 spectators will be allowed on site at the Foro Italico for the final two days of the tournament.

“I feel very welcomed here by people. You don’t see people in the stands, but the people who are part of the organisation, from transportation people, volunteers, grounds people, everyone is very kind to me. I happen to speak Italian, so obviously that brings me closer to them,” said Djokovic. “I feel that probably next to Serbia and maybe China, this is the place where I get the most support and where I get to feel the best, really. The results that I have had in the past [14] years are proving that I’m feeling great [here].”

This is arguably the biggest opportunity of Ruud’s career thus far. The Norwegian began the week with a 2-7 record at Masters 1000 events, with both of those victories coming in Rome. The World No. 34 will try to reach his third final from four clay-court events this year.

“This is my first time in the semi-finals, and today was even my first time in the quarter-finals [of a Masters 1000]. I’m just enjoying the moment,” Ruud said. “I’m in a good flow. I have gained good confidence in my game this week. Rome, I feel well here. [These are] great clay courts. It’s the way I think the clay court should be.” 

With his run to the last four, Ruud has overtaken Cristian Garin to lead the clay wins leaderboard on the ATP Tour this year. Ruud has won 12 of his 14 matches on the surface in 2020.

There is a big opportunity in the bottom half of the draw, as eighth seed Diego Schwartzman plays 12th seed Denis Shapovalov. If Schwartzman lifts his first Masters 1000 trophy on Monday, he will crack the Top 10 of the FedEx ATP Rankings for the first time. If anything else happens, Shapovalov will achieve that same feat.

Denis Shapovalov, Diego Schwartzman” />

“Denis [is a] great player,” Schwartzman said. “He’s a very good guy. He’s playing every week better and better. He’s going to be tough.

“It’s a different game than Rafa. He maybe has three, four games unreal and then you have a chance because he [makes] mistakes. But he’s playing [consistently] the past few weeks, so it’s going to be really tough.”

When a reporter asked Shapovalov about breaking into the Top 10 after he defeated Grigor Dimitrov earlier Saturday, the Canadian politely avoided responding in detail out of respect for Schwartzman. The Argentine then earned his first ATP Head2Head triumph against Nadal on his 10th attempt. 

“For sure it’s my best match ever,” Schwartzman said.

The Argentine will next play another lefty in Shapovalov, who will certainly come out firing in their first meeting. The Canadian is 9-2 since the ATP Tour resumed in August, having reached his first Grand Slam quarter-final at the US Open. He will hope to maintain his consistency against Schwartzman, who only made 17 unforced errors against Nadal.

“You have a lot of ups and downs. It’s fairly tough to stay consistent, I think. There are only certain players that have been able to do that throughout their career, so I’m happy to be playing this well,” Shapovalov said. “I have just been going one match at a time. And of course, I have had some lows. But I feel like that’s where working with a psychologist has helped me a lot to pick myself back up and improve my game after the drops.”

While Schwartzman has only competed in one previous Masters 1000 semi-final, last year in Rome, Shapovalov is playing in the last four at this level for the fifth time. Last year, the lefty reached the final of the Rolex Paris Masters. He has done well to make a quick change from hard courts to clay after dashing from Flushing Meadows to the Foro Italico.

“I have had a lot of difficult matches.
Dealing with jet lag and the body fatigue, it’s not easy, so I’m really happy with the way I have been able to overcome that,” Shapovalov said. “The way I felt tonight was really good, so I’m really happy and really pleased with myself.”

ORDER OF PLAY – SUNDAY 20 SEPTEMBER 2020

CENTRALE start 12:00 pm
WTA Match

Not Before 2:00 pm
[1] Novak Djokovic v Casper Ruud

Not Before 4:00 pm
WTA Match

Not Before 7:00 pm
[12] Denis Shapovalov v [8] Diego Schwartzman

PIETRANGELI start 4:00 pm
WTA Match

Not Before 5:30 pm
Jeremy Chardy/Fabrice Martin v [4] Marcel Granollers/Horacio Zeballos

Rafael Nadal entered the Internazionali BNL d’Italia quarter-finals with a 9-0 record against Diego Schwartzman. But instead of looking for excuses after losing to the Argentine for the first time, the Spaniard is only seeking ways to improve.

“We can find excuses, but I didn’t play well enough. Then we have to think internally, ‘Why? How I can fix it?’” Nadal said. “Now is not the moment to find excuses. [It’s] just the moment to accept that I didn’t play well enough.”

Few players dare go toe-to-toe with Nadal in baseline rallies. But that’s exactly what Schwartzman did, especially in ad-court exchanges. The eighth seed hit 31 winners to only 17 unforced errors, while nine-time Rome champion Nadal made 30 unforced errors, including 18 on his forehand wing.

Nadal began the tournament with an 85 per cent hold rate on clay in his service games. But Schwartzman dominated his return games, winning 52 per cent of first-serve return points en route to breaking the Spaniard five times from 10 service games.

“It was not my night at all. He played a great match I think and [I didn’t],” Nadal said. “When this happens, you have to lose. These things can happen. After such a long time without competing, I played two good matches, and now today I played a bad one against a good opponent.

“That’s how it is. I just want to congratulate Diego and I’m going to keep working.”

This was Nadal’s first tournament since the ATP Tour was suspended in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Spaniard won his first two matches in straight sets to reach the Rome quarter-finals for the 15th time. But the second seed will now have to regroup before beginning his run for a 13th Roland Garros trophy in just more than a week.

“It’s a completely special year and unpredictable year. I don’t know. I probably [will] go back home and then let’s see what’s going on,” Nadal said. “I did my job here. I did a couple things well and other things bad and that’s it. At least I played three matches. I fought until the end. But losing that many [service games], you can’t expect to win a match. [It’s] something that I have to fix.

“I know how to do it. I’m going to keep working and keep practising with the right attitude and try to give myself a chance to be ready.”

Did You Know?
Nadal fell to 63-7 at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia. The Spaniard’s has earned more victories (63) at the Italian Masters 1000 event than at all other tournaments except for Roland Garros (93), Monte Carlo (71), the Australian Open (65) and the US Open (64).

Nobody beats Diego Schwartzman 10 times in a row. Not even Rafael Nadal.

Schwartzman stunned nine-time Rome champion Nadal 6-2, 7-5 after two hours and four minutes on Saturday evening to reach the semi-finals of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia. Entering the match, Nadal had won all nine of their ATP Head2Head meetings, including 22 of their 24 sets.

“For sure it’s my best match ever,” Schwartzman said. “I played a few times against the three big champions in tennis. I never beat them until today. I’m very happy.” 

Schwartzman vs. Nadal – Stats

The Argentine is into his second ATP Masters 1000 semi-final. Schwartzman reached the last four at this level for the first time last year at the same event. He lost three of his first four matches at the Foro Italico, but has now won seven of his past eight on the Roman clay. He was especially courageous on the backhand side, keeping Nadal from playing his typical overwhelming clay-court tennis.

“It was crazy. Tennis is crazy. Our performance is always crazy. The past three weeks were really bad for me,” Schwartzman said on court after his victory. “Today I played my best tennis. Very similar to Roland Garros against Rafa three years ago and I’m very happy. I was not thinking to beat him really because I was not playing good [lately]. But today I did my best and I’m very happy.” 

Schwartzman played a spectacular match to earn his first victory against Nadal, playing aggressively and emerging victorious in cat-and-mouse points that few opponents win against Nadal, especially on clay.

“I played against him nine times before. Four or five times I was not close, but playing really well and close in the score, feeling well,” Schwartzman said. “I came to the court trying to do the same things and the first set was really, really good for me. I took every chance he gave me.” 

Nadal’s forehand is one of the biggest weapons in tennis, but Schwartzman consistently engaged in cross-court rallies with his backhand, pummeling his two-hander at every opportunity. The second seed only won 48 per cent of his first-serve points, whereas Schwartzman earned 58 per cent of his second-serve points.

“You don’t see this on clay,” Tennis Channel commentator Paul Annacone, former coach of Pete Sampras and Roger Federer, said of Schwartzman’s performance during the second set.

Nadal was trying to win his 10th Internazionali BNL d’Italia title. The legendary lefty falls to 63-7 at the Italian Masters 1000 event. This was his first tournament since the ATP Tour resumed in August.

Schwartzman took a set-and-a-break lead when Nadal hit a forehand drop shot into the net from inside the court. But that was only the first of five consecutive service breaks. The Argentine served for the match at 5-4, but was broken at love by a determined Nadal, who refused to make any unforced errors.

Schwartzman did not get discouraged, earning another chance to serve for the match with a two-part passing shot combination. He let out a roar after smacking a short backhand past a helpless Nadal at the net. This time, Schwartzman converted his opportunity, screaming, “Yeah!” after finishing the match with a forehand drop volley.

“[It was] a super heavy evening in terms of humidity. Conditions out there were much heavier than the previous days in terms of the bounces of the ball.
For me was difficult to push him back. He did a great job,” Nadal said. “I tried hard in the second, but losing serve three times in a row, then you need to [hope] for a miracle. I did twice, but the third one, even if I was 15/30, was not possible.”

The Argentine will play Canadian lefty Denis Shapovalov on Sunday for a spot in the Rome final, which would be Schwartzman’s first at a Masters 1000. They know each other well, having trained together in the Bahamas before the Western & Southern Open.

“He’s playing really well since we came back in the U.S. He was playing good,” Schwartzman said. “He’s a really good guy… It’s going to be really tough, but I think if I play like today I’m going to have chances.”

Did You Know?
Schwartzman is now 8-28 against Top 10 opponents. If he wins the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, he will crack the Top 10 of the FedEx ATP Rankings for the first time. If he doesn’t, Shapovalov will accomplish the same feat.

Denis Shapovalov earned his 100th tour-level win on Saturday in Rome, defeating Grigor Dimitrov 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 to reach the semi-finals of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.

The Canadian is 5-0 in Masters 1000 quarter-finals after eliminating the 2014 Rome semi-finalist in one hour and 51 minutes. Shapovalov is 9-2 since the ATP Tour resumed in August.

“Grigor’s a player I’ve looked up to from juniors. I really love the way he plays,” Shapovalov said on court after his win. “He’s beaten me twice before, so it’s really nice to get the win and it’s a huge step for my career.”

The 21-year-old is on the verge of cracking the Top 10 of the FedEx ATP Rankings for the first time. He will achieve the feat if Argentine Diego Schwartzman does not lift the trophy at the Foro Italico. Shapovalov will play Schwartzman or nine-time champion Rafael Nadal in the last four.

The 12th seed will be confident after his resilient performance against 15th-seeded Dimitrov. The Bulgarian had won their two previous ATP Head2Head meetings — including one in Rotterdam earlier this year — without losing a set. Dimitrov earned the momentum towards the end of the second set, but Shapovalov battled hard to wrestle it back and advance.

Both players displayed the athleticism and shotmaking skills that make them fan favourites. But Shapovalov proved to be a bit more dynamic than the 2017 Nitto ATP Finals champion, breaking Dimitrov’s serve five times.

Shapovalov slipped up in the second set, double faulting to go down 1-3 before earning a ‘boomerang break’ with a wicked backhand slice approach shot. But the Canadian gave the break back again with a forehand approach into the net.

The 2019 Stockholm Open champion showed a lot of positive energy in the third set, consistently yelling, “come on!” after big points. Dimitrov double faulted into the net to give Shapovalov a 2-0 lead in the decider and the Canadian never looked back.

Shapovalov showed no nerves in the back-end of the third set, continuing to play aggressively until the last point. Dimitrov, who won a Masters 1000 title at 2017 Cincinnati, hit a backhand slice into the top of the net to end the match. The lefty believes he has benefitted from reaching the doubles quarter-finals at both Rome and the US Open alongside Rohan Bopanna.

“It’s definitely helping a lot. It’s just improved my net game by so much and honestly I probably have one of the best partners on Tour,” Shapovalov said. “Not only is he an amazing player, but he’s such a good mentor and a really good friend of mine. Rohan’s helped me so much [to] improve in both singles and doubles.”

Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos have reached the final at all four of their clay-court tournaments this year, beating John Peers and Michael Venus 7-6(4), 7-6(5) on Saturday to advance to the championship match at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.

The fourth seeds improved to 15-1 on the surface this year, saving five of six break points to advance. Granollers and Zeballos are the only doubles team that has won multiple ATP Tour crowns this year, following back-to-back title runs at the Argentina Open in Buenos Aires and the Rio Open presented by Claro in February. Last week, the Spanish-Argentine duo’s unbeaten 2020 record on the dirt came to an end in the Generali Open final.

Granollers and Zeballos are attempting to lift their second ATP Masters 1000 trophy as a team. In their team debut, they captured the 2019 Coupe Rogers trophy in Montreal.

The pair will face Jeremy Chardy and Fabrice Martin for the title. The Frenchmen rallied from a set down to defeat Jurgen Melzer and Edouard Roger-Vasselin 6-7(5), 6-4, 10-4.

Chardy and Martin have survived three consecutive Match Tie-breaks to reach their first Masters 1000 final as a team. The unseeded duo have experience of playing in high-profile clay finals. Chardy and Martin reached last year’s Roland Garros championship match.

Jeremy Chardy and Fabrice Martin are attempting to claim their maiden ATP Masters 1000 trophy as a team.” />

Daniil Medvedev will face a tricky opponent in his first clay-court match of 2020 when he plays Frenchman Ugo Humbert in the opening round of the Hamburg European Open.

The Russian is fresh off his run to the semi-finals of the US Open, but he will have to find his clay feet quickly against an in-form opponent who defeated Kevin Anderson and Fabio Fognini at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia. This will be their first ATP Head2Head meeting. The lefty Humbert does well to keep play on his terms, but the 2019 Next Gen ATP Finals competitor will have to work hard to finish off points against the top seed.

Medvedev is making his first appearance in Hamburg since 2016 when he was 20. Four years ago, then-World No. 215, Medvedev qualified and reached the second round of the main draw. The top seed will pursue his maiden ATP Tour title on clay. Last year, he made the semi-finals of the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters.

The first seeded player Medvedev could face is 2013 champion Fognini, the sixth seed. The Italian begins his tournament against German wild card Philipp Kohlschreiber.

View Hamburg Draw

Medvedev isn’t the only tournament favourite to face a tough first-round match. Second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas will play British No. 1 Daniel Evans. The Greek won their only previous clash 6-2, 6-3 in Dubai earlier this year.

Evans will make Tsitsipas think hard throughout their match, though. The World No. 33 is not known for his clay-court game, but he uses a great variety of pace and spins to manoeuvre the ball around the court and keep opponents off balance. Both players will be looking to get back on track after losing their opening match in Rome.

One of the matches to watch in the first round is between fourth seed Roberto Bautista Agut and two-time defending champion Nikoloz Basilashvili. It will be a classic match-up of offence against defence, as Basilashvili will try to blast his way through the always stout defences of Bautista Agut. The other seeded player in their quarter is fifth seed Andrey Rublev, who opens against a qualifier.

The Spaniard leads their ATP Head2Head series 2-1, with the Georgian winning their most recent match in Dubai last year. This will be Bautista Agut’s first clay-court match since the ATP Tour resumed in August. Basilashvili will try to improve his 10-1 record in Hamburg.

#NextGenATP Canadian star Felix Auger-Aliassime will play Italian Lorenzo Sonego, who defeated Basilashvili in Rome. The winner will play seventh seed Diego Schwartzman — who plays Rafael Nadal in the Rome quarter-finals — or Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas.

Third seed Gael Monfils will try to earn his first victory of the ATP Tour’s resumption when he battles wild card Yannick Hanfmann. The German reached his second tour-level final last week in Kitzbühel, where he was a qualifier.

Former World No. 4 Kei Nishikori will face a tough test against Chilean Cristian Garin, who has won all four of his ATP Tour titles on clay. Eighth seed Karen Khachanov will try to battle through an all-power match against German Jan-Lennard Struff. Their two ATP Head2Head meetings have gone to a deciding set, with each man winning once.