Djokovic through to face Nadal in Rome semifinal

Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic will renew their rivalry in the Internazionali BNL d’Italia semi-finals.

Nadal, who holds a record seven titles at the Foro Italico, overcame a poor first set and a partisan crowd to beat Fabio Fognini 4-6 6-1 6-2 before four-time Rome winner Djokovic rallied past Kei Nishikori 2-6 6-1 6-3.

Djokovic and Nadal have played each other 50 times but their last meeting came more than a year ago, when Nadal won in the Madrid Open semifinals.

“I haven’t played too many matches the last six months,” said Djokovic, who is returning from a persistent right elbow injury.

“I just need a good night’s sleep and I’m going to give it everything I got.”

Make it 12 consecutive wins over Kei Nishikori and 9 Rome semi-finals in total. ????@DjokerNole sets a date with Rafael Nadal with a 2-6 6-1 6-3 victory. #ibi18 pic.twitter.com/Kf7OOYa3pk

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) May 18, 2018

Djokovic leads Nadal 26-24 overall, but Nadal holds a 15-7 advantage on clay.

Nadal can replace Roger Federer at No.1 if he lifts the Rome trophy for the first time since 2013. Federer is sitting out the clay season to prepare for Wimbledon, where he will bid for a record-extending 21st Grand Slam title.

In the other half of the draw, Australian Open finalist Marin Cilic beat 10th seed Pablo Carreno Busta 6-3 6-3.

The Croatian’s next opponent will be defending champion Alexander Zverev, who beat ninth seed David Goffin 6-4 3-6 6-3.

Djokovic has now won 12 straight matches over Nishikori and the Japanese player didn’t help his cause when he landed an easy overhead into the net early in the third set. Still, it remained tight with long rallies until the end.

“It was a fantastic match,” Djokovic said. “We went toe to toe until the last point.”

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Fans were decidedly behind Fognini, Italy’s top player, and Nadal was under pressure when Fognini won five straight games to cancel out a 4-1 deficit and win the opening set.

“He played aggressive, a great level of tennis, creating a lot of winners and taking balls earlier,” Nadal said. “I felt the pressure a little bit and played a couple of bad games.”

But Fognini couldn’t keep up with Nadal’s consistency and heavy topspin on the red clay court and was eventually worn down.

“I tried to play more with my forehand and when I play aggressive with my forehand the backhand becomes better,” said Nadal, who sat out earlier this season with right knee and hip injuries.

“It’s important to be able to change the tactics of the match.”