Rafael Nadal overcame a tough Fabio Fognini to advance to the Semi-Finals in Rome after he completed a tough 4-6 6-2 6-1 victory over the Italian.
Before their third round match in Rome, the top seed had a 10-3 head to head lead over his Italian nemesis and in the opening stages of their 14th meeting it was easy to see why. The Spaniard’s mix of pace and spin caught Fognini out in the early moments as Nadal raced out to a 4-1 lead in the first set. The world number two’s high win percentage at the net was also causing the Italian problems in terms of tactics to use against the ‘King of Clay’.
However the set took a turn for the worse for the six time champion as Fognini used his rapid backhand to good effect as he started his comeback against the Spaniard. This new found confidence from the world number 21 rattled Nadal as the Italian won five games in a row to grab the first set. It was almost beyond belief what was happening to Nadal as losing five games in a row rarely happens to the clay court specialist.
Despite his setback in the opening set, Nadal produced some sensational tennis and some unbelievable mental fortitude to grab the early break in the second set. The Spaniard only lost five points on serve in the second set as he comfortably wrapped up the second set in 34 minutes.
Unfortunately for the home crowd, the Italian was struggling with his movement and couldn’t keep up with his opponent’s high intensity as Nadal reached an extra gear. The Spaniard dominated most rallies and even demonstrated his amazing reflexes at the net:
https://twitter.com/TennisTV/status/997447746037600256
In the end Nadal secured a comfortable victory to move into the semi-finals in Rome for the first time since 2014. After the match Nadal explained his relief at the victory, “We both played well in the first set, good quality. I missed opportunities, made mistakes with the backhand, he was aggressive. Couple of bad games, then I changed the way, became more aggressive”
Rafael Nadal will look to make the Rome final as he will look to create more history against either Kei Nishikori or Novak Djokovic in the Semi-Finals tomorrow.
