Nadal returns the favor to Zverev

The Spaniard defeated the German in two sets 6:3,6:4 a week after the defeat in Madrid. Nadal showed his best tennis in the important moments and only allowed one service loss in ten break chances. In the semifinals, the nine-time Rome winner Nadal will meet the American Reilly Opelka, who defeated the Argentinian Federico Delbonis 7:5,7:6 (2).

In the Foro Italico, Zverev got off to a very bad start and quickly found himself 0-4 behind in the first set. The 24-year-old seemed a bit tired after his long match against the Japanese Kei Nishikori the day before. But then the German improved and fought his way back into the game. Nadal, who had defeated Denis Shapovalov in around three and a half hours the day before, wobbled a few times and appeared briefly injured after a fall. After 48 minutes he still took the first set.

Alexander Zverev had to acknowledge Rafael Nadal's superiority. © APA/afp / ANDREAS SOLARO

In the second round, Zverev was the more active player and earned a total of eight break chances. But Nadal played great in the tricky situations and fended off all opportunities. Instead, he took Zverev's serve to make it 3-2. The Hamburg native, who won in Rome in 2017, didn't give up and earned five more break points after losing his serve. Nadal, who was particularly successful with his stop balls, fended off all of them and made it through with his first match point after exactly two hours. Tsitsipas slowed down by the rain The following quarter-final between Stefanos Tsitsipas and the Serbian Novak Djokovic had to be interrupted for the second time due to rain early in the evening when the score was 6:4, 2:1 for the Greek. The match will finish on Saturday. The last quarter-final between the Italian Dominic Thiem conqueror Lorenzo Sonego and the Russian Andrey Rublev had not even begun.

In the women's tournament, Ashleigh Barty had to retire in the quarterfinals against the American Coco Gauff when she was leading 6:4, 2:1 due to an injury to her right arm. The Australian world number one is now likely to be worried about taking part in the French Open, which begins in just over two weeks. After the game she stated that she was unable to serve at 100 percent due to muscular problems. “It's important to listen to my body as we head into a Grand Slam in two weeks,” Barty said.

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Nadal returns the favor to Zverev

Rafael Nadal achieved revenge against Alexander Zverev in the quarterfinals of the Masters 1000 tournament in Rome.

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