(file pics : Novak Djokovic & Rafael Nadal)
Speed Post News Network
Patna : Five-time champion Novak Djokovic, 33, Serbia, and nine-time champion Rafael Nadal, 34, Spain, will clash in men’s singles final of Italian Open 2021, an ATP Masters 1,000 clay court tournament, at Foro Italico, Rome, Italy, on May 16, 2021, at 8, 30 pm. It will be 57th meeting between the two tennis titans. Djokovic leads Nadal 29-27 Head to Head.
Top seed & defending champion Novak Djokovic battled past World No 33 Lorenzo Sonego, 25, Italy, in three-sets in 2hr 44 minutes in second semi-finals on May 15, 2021, late night, to set up a clash with arch rival Nadal in final. World No 3 & 2nd seed Nadal had defeated World No 47 Reilly Opelka, 23, USA, in straight sets 6-4, 6-4 in 1 hr 32 minutes in first semi-finals on May 16, 2021.
World No 1 Djokovic won 4 break points during the match to 1 by Sobego. Djokovic had created 12 break point opportunities but could convert only 4 of them as Sonego saved 8 break points. The Italian had created 7 break point opportunities but could convert only 1 of them. The Serbian won 3 games in a row during the match to 2 by the Italian. Djokovic, in all, won 108 points to 86 by Sonego.
Djokovic served 5 Aces during the match to 3 by Sonego. The Serbian committed 2 double faults to 3 by the Italian. Incidentally, Djokovic had also defeated 5th seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, 22, Greece, in three-sets in quarter-finals. Sonego had defeated reigning US Open Champion & 4th seed Dominic Thiem, 27, Austria, in three-sets in 3rd round and 7th seed Andrey Rublev, 23, Russia, in three-sets in QFs.