Italian Open 2016: Rome Masters Final Schedule After Semi-Final Results
Novak Djokovic sealed his place in the Italian Open final on Saturday after beating Kei Nishikori 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(5) in Rome.
Djokovic was forced to come from behind in an enthralling contest on Centre Court, with a self-inflicted ankle injury visibly rattling the Serbian top seed, who engaged in a war of words with the umpire for the second match in succession.
In the other semi-final encounter, World No. 3 Andy Murray overcame testing conditions to secure a 6-2, 6-1 victory against Frenchman Lucas Pouille.
Rainy weather in the Italian capital delayed the 3 p.m. start time before a later rain-enforced interval, but the Scot's experience shone through as he reached his fourth ATP World Tour clay-court final in just 59 minutes of action.
Here are the latest results from the day's action at the Rome Masters.
| (2) Andy Murray bt. Lucas Pouille | 6-2, 6-1 |
| (1) Novak Djokovic bt. (6) Kei Nishikori | 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(5) |
To access the full schedule for this year’s Italian Open, click here.
Saturday Recap
Djokovic was forced to go the distance in his clash with Japanese sixth seed Nishikori after struggling to settle in the contest from the off.
The 11-time Grand Slam winner was immediately frustrated with himself after letting early points slip in the opening game, crashing his racket against his ankle attempting to remove clay from the underside of his trainer.
He was forced to call for a medical timeout after the game and appeared to be hampered in his movement thereafter as Nishikori took full advantage in the opening set.
LiveTennis displayed the problems Djokovic encountered in the opening stages as he required medical attention:
"#Djokovic holds to 30, narrowly after 2 Kei misses... And we're getting the physio on already! Left ankle, it seems. pic.twitter.com/8h8NZAlqIQ
— Live Tennis (@livetennis) May 14, 2016"
The 26-year-old worked on his opponent's restricted movement with an array of drop shots to break at 2-1 before a lethal right-hander down the tram-line secured a 5-2 advantage.
The New York Times' Ben Rothenberg thought the Serbian favourite looked rattled early on in the contest:
The 2014 U.S. Open finalist took the opening set of the match to the surprise of the 10,000-capacity crowd, but the Japanese player deserved he lead, with stats provided by BeinSports:
Nishikori would save four game points in his first foray in the second set, denying two further later on as he quickly transitioned from defence into attack.
However, Djokovic would regain the form that has seen him claim four of the previous five Grand Slam titles, forcing a third and final set with a decisive break point in the 10th game.
Now in the ascendancy, the 28-year-old shook off any foot pain and regained his range of movement, snatching a break in just the second game of the third set to put himself in front.
His opponent battled back with a break of his own in order to level the scores up at four-games apiece before forcing Djokovic into a tiebreak—his first in nearly two years, per ATPworldtour.com.
He needed four match points to complete the task at hand, but Djokovic did finally secure his place in the final following three hours and two minutes of game action.
BBC Sport journalist Piers Newbury told the tale of the tape in the dramatic encounter:
Meanwhile in the earlier contest, Murray's clash with Pouille was handed a short delay due to poor weather conditions.
Murray made a bright start to the clash with his World No. 53 opponent, opening up a 3-1 lead after breaking his junior with a devastating forehand winner after meeting a short drop shot.
TennisTV detailed the statistics behind Murray's Final Four victory:
However, the action was to be short-lived as falling rain once again caused the sheets to be unveiled over the court, and the players returned to the dressing room.
The 13-minute interval did little to prevent the two-time Grand Slam winner from taking a 5-2 lead, before breaking soon after to take the opening set with consummate ease.
Pouille had received great fortune to seal his place in the semi-final of the competition after varied dropouts fell kindly in his path.
After losing to Mikhail Kukushkin in the final qualifying round, he was handed a main draw berth following compatriot Jo-Wilfried Tsonga's withdrawal. Successes over Ernests Gulbis and David Ferrer were well-earned to reach the quarter-final stage, but from there, he was granted a walkover following the withdrawal of Juan Monaco.
Murray raced out the blocks in the second-set encounter, breaking the 22-year-old in the fourth and sixth game to secure a comfortable passage into the tournament showdown.
The official Italian Open social-media account provided confirmation of Murray's progression into the final:
He has now reached eight of the nine ATP World Tour Masters 1000s, with Monte-Carlo the last remaining barrier to breach. The 2014 Wimbledon champion now meets Djokovic in the final of the competition set to be played on Sunday.
Murray will have watched on with glee seeing his upcoming final opponent forced to work for his final berth, eventually securing his passage after more than three hours of work. The Scot's display may have been fragmented in the early stages on Saturday, but Murray took advantage of his easier draw to return to the dressing room within one hour of action on Centre Court.
The Brit, ranked only behind his upcoming opponent and Roger Federer in the world standings, will take great confidence from Djokovic's display in the evening encounter, with Nishikori causing his rival severe problems during the contest.
Murray must address and examine where the Japan star found most joy and look to exploit that area in their impending head-to-head if he is to stand a chance of claiming the title this weekend. History does not favour the Glasgow-born right-hander when drawn alongside Djokovic, with the Serbian big-hitter winning 23 of their previous 32 matches against one another, per ATPworldtour.com.
Sunday's match also marks Murray's 29th birthday, but he insists the special landmark has failed to provide him with good luck in the past. Per ATPworldtour.com, he said: "I don't remember winning any matches, really, on my birthday which isn't a great sign. Hopefully tomorrow that will change." He added:
"I think I have made some improvements in my game [in the past year]. Last year I was winning a lot of matches at this time of the year, but I do think I'm playing better tennis this year. I think my serve has been a big improvement for me.
"
That's why in matches like today, Lucas had no opportunities on my serve. I had a few matches like that over the past few weeks, and that hasn't always been the case.
To get like a win in the semi-finals of a Masters 1000 losing five points on serve is the first time that's happened in my career, and that's been the most pleasing thing for me.
Meanwhile for Djokovic, he was delighted to escape the clutches of Nishikori and seal his place in the final, admitting to ATPworldtour.com that the result had come down to the finest of margins. He said:
"One point [was the difference]. Today it was 112 to 111 points won. So one point. At this level, this particular match is a great example of how it can be decided, in clutch moments and very few shots. Sometimes the luck can go your way, sometimes not. But the only thing you can do is influence your own capabilities on the court and your own focus and things that you can do best.
"
Djokovic has won 12 of the last 13 matches against Murray and will be bidding for his 65th tour title from 91 final appearances, per ATPworldtour.com.
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