Novak Djokovic extended his FedEx ATP Head2Head dominance against Juan Martin del Potro, prevailing past the Argentine 6-1, 6-4 on Saturday afternoon after rain and lightning delayed their quarter-final match on Friday at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome. Djokovic now leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head series 14-4 and has won their past three matches. The Serbian advances to his second consecutive ATP World Tour Masters 1000 semi-final on clay, including his last-four run last week at the Mutua Madrid Open (l. to Nadal). The World No. 2 will tackle double duty on Saturday: Djokovic will meet Austrian Dominic Thiem in the Rome semi-finals not before 8 p.m. local time. Watch Live On TennisTV Watch Full Match Replays The 29-year-old...
Second seed Novak Djokovic and Juan Martin del Potro were in for a late night on Friday at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, but they’ll return to the court on Saturday to finish their quarter-final match. Rain and lightning forced them off with Djokovic serving at 6-1, 1-2. Djokovic dropped serve in the opening game, but won the next six games to take the 44-minute opening set. The Serbian hit 15 winners to a tidy 10 unforced errors in the first set, controlling the points by moving del Potro from side to side. Meanwhile, del Potro struggled for form and didn’t hit a backhand winner in the opening set, finishing with six winners to 11 unforced errors. The Argentine reigned his...
Dominic Thiem showed great maturity and poise on Friday afternoon to outplay seven-time former champion Rafael Nadal at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia. The Austrian learned the lessons from his final losses to Nadal at the recent Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell and Mutua Madrid Open with a 6-4, 6-3 quarter-final victory in one hour and 51 minutes. It ended Nadal’s 17-match winning streak on red dirt, which included three straight clay crowns. "I came in with a very aggressive game style, because I knew that if I wanted to have a chance, then I would have to do something different and be more aggressive," said Thiem. "I knew that if it goes in, everything, maybe I have a chance. If not,...
Top seeds Henri Kontinen and John Peers are moving closer to their first clay-court title of the season at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, marching into the semi-finals on Friday over fifth seeds Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo 6-4, 7-6(6). Kubot/Melo have been the most in-form team on tour, racking up ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles in Miami (d. Monroe/Sock) and Madrid (d. Mahut/Vasselin). But Kontinen/Peers were not to be denied, saving a set point on their serve at 5-6 in the second set en route to claiming victory in one hour 36 minutes. Next up for Kubot/Melo is either eighth seeds Ivan Dodig and Marcel Granollers or Americans John Isner and Jack Sock. Second seeds and defending champions Bob...
#NextGenATP star Alexander Zverev is through to his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 semi-final at the age of 20. The German powered through the second set to defeat World No. 6 Milos Raonic 7-6(4), 6-1 on Friday in the quarter-finals of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome. Zverev - who leads the Emirates ATP Race To Milan, which determines the eight-man field at the inaugural 21-and-under Next Gen ATP Finals – will face John Isner for a place in the final at the Foro Italico. Zverev, 12 years Isner’s junior, leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head series 2-0. He is the first German through to the Rome semi-finals since Tommy Haas in 2002. [ALSO LIKE] "It's another stepping stone in...