Novak Djokovic has found the necessary resources to overcome Stefanos Tsitsipas and join the last four of the tournament in Rome (4-6, 7-5, 7-5). He will face Lorenzo Sonego, striker of Andrey Rublev (3-6, 6-4, 6-3).
It therefore took two days and especially 3:18 for Novak Djokovic to overcome Stefanos Tsitsipas. In the shock of the quarter-finals of the Masters 1000 in Rome, which had been interrupted by rain this Friday, the two players surrendered blow for blow. The Greek had gained the upper hand in the first round which was played on Friday and still seemed as dominant but he was less consistent and gave way under the butt of the world number 1 on Saturday. His set and his break in advance did not resist Nole. The native of Athens had yet resumed by confirming his break but that was not enough. The turn of the match came at 4-3 in favor of Tsitsipas in the second set. Led 0-40, he relied on his first serve to tie and even afford three opportunities to lead 5-3. To no avail, the 22-year-old finally conceded the break-up and failed to regain the lead when he got three opportunities to take Djokovic’s serve in the next game. What feed immense regrets, all the more so that at 5-6, he lost his service game and the second set not without having battled by saving uselessly three set points.
Djokovic broke Tsitsipas when he served to win the match
By giving control to his opponent and committing more faults, Tsitsipas got into the red and saw his lead disappear. The Serbian did not ask for so much. And even if he was quickly broken in the third set, the Belgrade native capitalized on his comeback to be the most consistent in a decisive decisive set. By taking the serve of his opponent when he served for the game winning, he converted one more break than his eye-catching opponent. In an intense end to the match, the world number 1 managed to win after still swinging a racket. He emerged victorious from a huge battle. But Novak Djokovic will have to recover quickly because he will quickly return to the court to face Lorenzo Sonego. The Italian also needed three sets to reach the last four. He knocked down Andrey Rublev (3-6, 6-4, 6-3). The 33rd in the world has gained momentum to surprise the number 7 seed of the Italian tournament.
A Roman Revival! ??
The moment @DjokerNole completed a stunning victory over Tsitsipas to advance to his eighth consecutive Rome semi-final…#IBI21 pic.twitter.com/nCEH8ZeM1F
– Tennis TV (@TennisTV) May 15, 2021
ROME (Italy, Masters 1000, clay, € 2,563,710)
Defending champion: Novak Djokovic (SER)
Semi-finals
Djokovic (SER, n ° 1) – Sonego (ITA)
Opelka (USA) – Nadal (ESP, n°2)
Quarter-finals
Djokovic (SER, n ° 1) bat Tsitsipas (GRE, n ° 5): 4-6, 7-5, 7-5
Sonego (ITA) bat Rublev (RUS, n°7) : 3-6, 6-4, 6-3
Opelka (USA) bat Delbonis (ARG, Q) : 7-5, 7-6 (2)
Nadal (ESP, n°2) bat A.Zverev (ALL, n°6) : 6-3, 6-4