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ROME: Rafael Nadal closed in on an eighth Rome Masters title as he dismissed old rival Novak Djokovic 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 on Saturday to reach the final for a record-extending 10th time.
The Spanish top seed will meet second-seeded holder Alexander Zverev, a 7-6 (15/13), 7-5 winner over Australian Open finalist Marin Cilic.
His impressive win over Djokovic will give Nadal added confidence ahead of the French Open, where he has won a record 10 titles.
Nadal, still unbeaten in semi-finals at the Foro Italico, unleashed a trademark clay-court attack after winning a tight first set lasting well over an hour in his 51st meeting with old rival Djokovic.
“I need to be able to play my best tomorrow,” Nadal said of his Sunday final.
“I´m very happy with my game. It all worked for me, the tactics, the shots.”
“To play against Novak you always have to play at the limit of your game with a high intensity and understand well the tactics you want to play.”
The 31-year-old world number two cut the deficit in his head-to-head series with Djokovic to 26-25 since they first faced off in 2006.
But the Serb complained afterwards about poor scheduling which affected his preparation, playing a late-afternoon quarter-final on Friday before returning to court on Saturday mid-afternoon.
“I don´t want to seem like I´m complaining about losing the match because of the schedule. But having to end at night and coming back to play early in the day affects a lot,” he said.
“Nobody has ever, ever reached me in my entire career to ask me about what I think would be the best scheduling. I don´t think that is fair, we will address it in the next players´ council.”
Djokovic has rediscovered his form this week after months of elbow injury problems, including an operation earlier this year.
He can also feel his confidence increasing.
“I don´t think there was that much of a difference, which is great news for me. Winning the tie-break was for him a great wind in his back.
“Rafa was just better in the important moments, played the better shots. He deserved to win
“I haven´t had many breaks in the last period, so I´m pleased by how I´ve played in the last days. I hope Roland Garros can be the continuation”
Nadal now stands 10-8 over Djokovic in semi-finals, with the pair having played each other at all four Grand Slam tournaments, the ATP Finals, Davis Cup, the Olympic Games along with eight of the nine Masters 1000 events.
Nadal took 73 minutes to win the opening set after leading 5-2.
But to take the early lead, the top seed had to avoid being reeled in by Djokovic.
Djokovic, a four-time Rome winner and former world number one, battled back to 5-5 with a break of the Spaniard before the set went to a tie-break, which
Nadal took on the first of two set points with a backhand winner down the line.
Nadal earned a 2-1 lead in the second set with another break of Djokovic and never lost control.
The top seed kept his nose ahead until the end, winning on his second match point as he fired another untouchable backhand.
Zverev will aim for an upset of Nadal as well as a claycourt Masters double after winning Madrid last weekend.
The 21-year-old German will be playing his fifth final in the last 10 Masters events — he won Rome and Montreal in 2017 and played the Miami final this season.
Saturday´s win over Cilic extended his current win streak to 13 matches while he has 30 match wins in total in 2018.