Playing his first qualifying draw since the 2012 Rolex Paris Masters, Grigor Dimitrov moved one win away from the Banque Eric Sturdza Geneva Open main draw on Saturday.

The Bulgarian defeated home favourite Marc-Andrea Huesler 6-4, 6-3 in 62 minutes to set a meeting with Thomas Fabbiano. Dimitrov had to take a wild card into qualifying after the three available main draw wild cards had already been allocated to Stan Wawrinka, Feliciano Lopez and Janko Tipsarevic.

“Obviously I haven’t competed for a long time, so I need to get as many matches as I can… I am just excited to get back on the court and to feel healthy. This is the number one thing for me,” said Dimitrov, who had played just six matches since the Australian Open. “I think the confidence comes with playing matches… I am going to compete and try my best to prepare to the maximum that I can for the final clay-court tournaments.”

Dimitrov is keen to not put any pressure on results as he continues his comeback. The Bulgarian missed events in Rotterdam, Acapulco and Indian Wells due to a right shoulder injury.

“I have zero expectations right now,” said Dimitrov. “Just because I know what I have been through, what I have gone through. I think physically and mentally, [I am] just trying to get back into decent shape. I always expect more from myself but right now… I don’t need to put anything on myself.”

The World No. 48 is currently attempting to rebuild his ATP Ranking after dropping to No. 49, his lowest standing since 29 October 2012 (No. 55), on 29 April this year. The 2017 Nitto ATP Finals champion took a moment to discuss his unwavering desire to climb back towards the top spots in the game with the valuable support of his team.

“I have dropped, a little bit, my ATP Ranking and things haven’t really gone that well for me in the past months, but that doesn’t discourage me,” said Dimitrov. “All the people that are around me right now, they really look after my best interests. In the toughest moments they are next to me and, to me, that is one of the highest values in life.”

In a battle of supreme offence against relentless defence, Novak Djokovic prevailed against Juan Martin del Potro, but just barely.

The Serbian saved two match points to fend off Del Potro’s best attacking tennis from both wings and reach the Internazionali BNL d’Italia semi-finals 4-6, 7-6(6), 6-4 early Saturday morning. The four-time Rome champion led 5-2 in the second set, only to have to erase both match points in the tie-break, including one on Del Potro’s racquet.

But the top seed took control midway through the third set and will now face Argentine Diego Schwartzman for a place in his second consecutive ATP Masters 1000 final.

“I never lost faith I could come back to the match. One break of serve, mini break in the tie-break when he was 6/4, more or less open forehand that he was making the entire match, that’s all it took for me to come back,” Djokovic said. “[He] missed a couple crucial points in the tie-break. Also break point third set, quite easy forehand. That’s what happens. That’s sport. I’m just really pleased to overcome.”

Djokovic had beaten Del Potro in both of their prior FedEx ATP Head2Head meetings on clay and in seven of their past eight meetings. But Del Potro, competing in only his third tournament of the season, battled Djokovic evenly from the baseline and often overpowered last week’s Mutua Madrid Open champion from both wings, using his backhand to open up the court and attack Djokovic’s forehand.

Del Potro broke in the seventh game and erased all six break points faced in the first set, including three while serving it out at 5-4. The Argentine ripped a backhand winner down the line to take the opener.

“I lost probably the positioning of the court over him. Towards the end of the first, he just started hitting the ball really well from both corners, also backhand side, backhand down the line. He was playing really well, gave me a lot of trouble,” Djokovic said.

The Serbian at last broke in the sixth game of the second when a bad bounce on the line caught Del Potro off guard. But the Argentine broke back in the ninth game when Djokovic tossed in a loose game while attempting to serve out the set at 5-3.

Del Potro, however, missed a forehand on his first match point at 6/4 in the second-set tie-break, and Djokovic locked in on his serve. The Serbian increasingly turned to his drop shot to break up the rallies and lure Del Potro forward, and he executed the shot to perfection while saving the second match point at 5/6.

As the midnight hour came and went, the third set saw both players egging the packed crowd inside Campo Centrale to get behind them. But it was Djokovic who broke in the fifth game as Del Potro netted a sitting forehand. The Argentine, who missed most of this season because of an injured kneecap suffered last October, didn’t see a break chance the rest of the way.

Did You Know?
Del Potro’s 10 wins against the World No. 1 are the most by any player who has never been ranked No. 1 himself.

Rafael Nadal and Stefanos Tsitsipas will square off for a second straight Saturday – this time in Rome with a place in the Internazionali BNL d’Italia final on the line.

In the Rome night session, World No. 1 Novak Djokovic will meet Argentine Diego Schwartzman. Djokovic won a record-tying 33rd ATP Masters 1000 title on Sunday in Madrid. Schwartzman will be appearing in his first ATP Masters 1000 semi-final. All four semi-finalists have made it to the weekend without dropping a set.

Nadal has a chance for revenge on the #NextGenATP Greek after his shocking semi-final loss last week at the Mutua Madrid Open. The Spaniard leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head 3-1, including a semi-final victory at this year’s Australian Open. The World No. 2 has been in brutal form from the first ball in Rome, dropping just six games to reach the semi-finals and recording a 6-0 set in all three of his victories.

He also has experience at this juncture of a Masters 1000 tournaments on his side. Nadal is appearing in a record 71st Masters 1000 semi-final and is trying to reach his 50th Masters 1000 final (33-16), while Tsitsipas is looking to reach his third final at this level.

The eight-time Rome champion seeks his first title of the season. Nadal recorded semi-final showings this clay season at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell and Madrid. But while Nadal gave high praise to Tsitsipas, he is confident he can turn the tables on Saturday.

“The theory is always easy, but the execution is much more difficult,” said Nadal. “Tennis is a simple sport. After a lot of years here, I know what happened last week and I’m going to try to do it better tomorrow.”

Tsitsipas became the youngest player to beat Nadal on clay and looks to join Djokovic (2011 Madrid and Rome) as the only players to beat him in back-to-back clay tournaments. Although he was aided by a walkover quarter-final win over Roger Federer, Tsitsipas has been in top form this week and advanced to the last four without dropping a set.

Consistency has been the Greek’s mantra throughout 2019. He has more ATP Tour match wins (29) and more finals (4) than anyone this season. The 2018 Next Gen ATP Finals champion (d. De Minaur) had to go through qualifying last year in Rome when he arrived at No. 43 in the ATP Rankings, but if he can beat Nadal on Saturday, he’ll move to No. 5 on Monday.

Djokovic leads his FedEx ATP Head2Head against Schwartzman 2-0, but they haven’t played in two years. The Serbian has put in a heroic effort by winning two matches on Thursday and then saving two match points to topple Juan Martin del Potro in an epic quarter-final.

Read & Watch: Djokovic Saves 2 MP Against Del Potro

Schwartzman has enjoyed a milestone week by defeating a Top 6 player for the first time in Kei Nishikori and reaching his first Masters 1000 semi-final. He now looks to beat Top 10 opponents in back-to-back matches for the first time in his career. The Argentine has been stellar in return games this week, leading the tournament with 18 breaks of serve (out of 36 games).

Who will win the latest @FedEx ATP Head2Head clash between these players?

— ATP Tour (@ATP_Tour) May 18, 2019

The doubles semi-finals will also take place on Saturday. Top seeds Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo face third seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah in the final match on Campo Centrale, while fifth seeds Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic square off with sixth seeds Raven Klaasen and Michael Venus on Pietrangeli.

ORDER OF PLAY – SATURDAY, MAY 18, 2019

CENTRALE start 12:00 noon
WTA match
Not Before 2:30 pm
ATP – [8] Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) vs [2] Rafael Nadal (ESP) 
Not Before 5:00 pm
WTA match
Not Before 8:00 pm
ATP – [1] Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs Diego Schwartzman (ARG) 
ATP – [1] Lukasz Kubot (POL) / Marcelo Melo (BRA) vs [3] Juan Sebastian Cabal (COL) / Robert Farah (COL) 

PIETRANGELI start 12:00 noon
2 WTA matches
Not Before 6:00 pm
ATP – [5] Oliver Marach (AUT) / Mate Pavic (CRO) vs [6] Raven Klaasen (RSA) / Michael Venus (NZL)