Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman beat Kei Nishikori 6-4 6-2 after 1 hour and 27 minutes to reach the semifinal at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome.
Schwartzman has improved his win-loss record to 18-12 this season. He beat Nishikori for their first time in four head-to-head matches.
In the opening set Schwartzman converted his fourth break point chance in the second game, when Schwartzman hit hs smash into the net. He went up a double break at 15 in the fourth game after a loose forehand from Nishikori and raced out to a 5-0 lead with a drop shot winner.
Nishikori won 18 of the next 22 points to pull both breaks back to 4-5. Schwartzman broke for the third time to close out the first set 6-4, when Nishikori hit a forehand into the net on Schwartzman’s second set point after 48 minutes.
The second set went on serve until the sixth game, when Schwartzman broke serve to take a 4-2 lead, as Nishikori hit a forehand wide. Schwartzman raced out to a 5-2 lead with a forehand crosscourt winner and got a double break in the eighth game after two deuces in the eighth game with a double fault from Nishikori to close out the second set 6-2 with a double fault from Nishikori.
Schwartzman has reached his first Masters 1000 semifinal to become the 11th Argentinian player to achieve this feat at this level.
In the semifinal the Argentine player will face either four-time Rome champion Novak Djokovic or Juan Martin Del Potro.
Schwartzman is bidding to reach his second final of the season after finishing runner-up to Marco Cecchinato in the Buenos Aires last February.
