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Nadal to face Djokovic in Italian Open semis

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rafael nadal - novak djokovic

Spaniard Rafael Nadal will battle Serb rival Novak Djokovic in the semifinals of the ongoing Italian Open.

Nadal reached his first Italian Open last four since 2014 with a hard-fought victory against Fabio Fognini in Rome.

The world number two won 4-6 6-1 6-2 to set up a clash with Djokovic, who beat Kei Nishikori.

Djokovic, now ranked 18 and playing his first ATP quarter-final of 2018, triumphed 2-6 6-1 6-3 in two hours and 21 minutes.

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Seven-time champion Nadal, 31, needs to win the Masters title to reclaim the world number one spot from Roger Federer.

He will be meeting Djokovic for the 51st time in the ATP Tour. And the Serb has won 26 times in their past meetings.

Saturday’s clash will be his first against Nadal since Madrid last year, when the Spaniard ended a run of seven consecutive Djokovic victories.

The winner of the match will face Marin Cilic or Alexander Zverev/David Goffin in the final.

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