Novak Djokovic has reached the semi-finals of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament against Kei Nishikori. The ex-number-one prevailed after a hard fight in three sets.
Already in Monte Carlo Kei Nishikori proved that he is a serious opponent on sand. Now also Novak Djokovic felt this in Rome.
The Serb saw himself behind early in the first set and had to accept two breaks at the beginning and 4:1. Nishikori acted purposefully and consistently exploited his chances against the “Djoker”.
With the second match in the first set, Djokovic, who was somewhat restrained, corrected the result before Nishikori was eliminated for 6:2 with his own service.
At the beginning of the second round Djokovic seemed to have had the luck on the bat. After a close service play, three lucky balls helped the “Djoker” to break and lead 2-0.
Djokovic and Nishikori increased their level again and showed phenomenal tennis. A comfortable 3-0 lead for the Serb was the well-deserved reward for great strokes and a great fighting spirit. As if in high spirits, Djokovic put a shove on it and played his way to the front 4-0.
But Nishikori did not give in and reacted with an immediate re-break to the 1:4 connection. The Serb on the other side was too strong, however, grabbed another service game and forced the third round with a 6:1.
A murmur rushed through the ranks and disbelief spread when Nishikori had an overhead ball hit and then slammed into the net from less than a metre without a hassle. A momentous mistake that brought Djokovic the break to 2:1.
However, the huge mistake did not seem to have had too strong an impact on Nishikori, which was offset by a re-break. Winners and long, spectacular rallies marked this phase of the game and especially Djokovic played like in old times. At times, the actions of the two actors were celebrated with standing ovations. Foro Itlalico experienced a real firework of world-class tennis.
Games six, seven and eight in set three each lasted over eight minutes before Djokovic took a 5-3 break.
After 2:23 hours, Djokovic converted the first match point to 6:3, booked his ticket to his ninth semi-final in Rome and will now face Rafael Nadal.