Djokovic And Nadal To Meet Again In Rome QFs
Djokovic And Nadal To Meet Again In Rome QFs
DAY 6 PREVIEW: The quarter-finals on Friday at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia are headlined by three of the Big Four: Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal. Djokovic and Nadal meet for the 49th time, the most in the Open Era. They have combined to win the last 11titles in Rome.
In the second match on, No. 12 seed David Goffin looks for his first win (0-3) against Murray, who is appearing in the Rome quarter-finals for the third time in the last six years. Goffin is coming off a 60 60 win over No. 8 Tomas Berdych on Thursday, his third career Top 10 win (3-26). The 25-year-old Belgian is back in the quarter-finals for the second straight year. Murray, who is 26-3 on clay in 2015-16, will return to No. 2 in the Emirates ATP Rankings on Monday. He is trying to reach the semi-finals here for the first time since 2011.
In the highly-anticipated third match on, four-time Rome champion Djokovic brings a 25-23 head-to-head record (6-14 on clay) against seven-time Rome winner Nadal. Djokovic has won the last six meetings and 13 sets (10 of last 11 matches, 22-4 sets). Nadal’s last win came in the final of 2014 Roland Garros. This is their sixth meeting in Rome (Nadal leads 3-2) and earliest meeting here since the quarter-finals in 2007. Djokovic, who has won 15 straight matches against Top 10 opponents (33-2 in sets), is the all-time leader with 29 career ATP Masters 1000 titles followed by Nadal with 28. Djokovic is appearing in the quarter-finals or better here for the 10th consecutive year. He’s won his last 12 matches in Rome and is 35-2 on the season. Nadal leads the ATP World Tour this year with an 19-3 clay court record, winning 15 of his past 16 matches. This is the Spaniard’s 11th quarter-finals in Rome in 12 appearances. He is 9-1 in quarter-final matches here.
In the evening session, No. 13 seed Dominic Thiem and No. 6 Kei Nishikori meet for the second time. Nishikori won the previous meeting 76 75 in the first round of Halle last June. The 22-year-old Thiem, who is the second-youngest player in the Top 20 Emirates ATP Rankings at No. 15, is appearing in his second career ATP Masters 1000 quarter-finals (2015 Miami). He is the first Austrian to reach the quarter-finals in Rome since Thomas Muster won the title in 1996. He comes in with a 32-9 match record on the season (16-4 on clay), the second-most match wins behind Djokovic (35). Nishikori is appearing in the quarter-finals for the second straight year and this is the Japanese star’s fourth ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final in five tournaments this season.
On Grandstand, French lucky loser Lucas Pouille squares off with Argentine Juan Monaco for the third time (tied 1-1). Pouille, who is 12-4 in his last five tournaments after a 2-5 start, is the first lucky loser to reach the quarter-finals in Rome since Alberto Martin in 2005. Pouille, appearing in his first ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final, will crack the Top 50 in the Emirates ATP Rankings for the first time next week around No. 37. Monaco is coming off a three-set win over World No. 4 Stan Wawrinka, his highest ranked win since 2010 Valencia (d. No. 4 Murray). Monaco, who is ranked No. 114, is appearing in the quarter-finals here for the first time since 2009. He is trying to reach his first ATP Masters 1000 semi-final since 2012 Miami.