World No. 1 Novak Djokovic overcame a self-inflicted ankle injury to battle into the Internazionali BNL d’Italia final after a thrilling 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/5) win over Kei Nishikori on Saturday.
Djokovic was to play Britain’s Andy Murray, the second seed, in a second successive Masters final yesterday, a week after beating the Scot in Madrid.
Djokovic, the top seed and defending champion, had laid the foundations for a fifth title in Rome with a hard-fought and classy win over seven-time champion Rafael Nadal on Friday.
Photo: AFP
However, the Serbian almost scuppered his hopes when he inadvertently bruised his left ankle with his racket as he hit it against his shoe to shake off the red dirt.
“A message to all the kids out there: Don’t hit your own ankle when you’re cleaning your shoes,” he said after the match.
It left Djokovic requiring medical treatment and appeared to rob him of the early momentum against the Japanese sixth seed.
Photo: EPA
“It was an awkward situation in the first game, I hit myself pretty hard on the ankle and bruised the bone,” he said.
“It hurt for a while, and though the pain faded it returned towards the end of the match,” he said.
Nishikori — who lost in the semi-finals in Madrid to the Serbian — was a tough customer for tennis’ man of the moment.
Nishikori’s agility and movement were crucial in a 43-minute first set that he peppered with a healthy dose of drop shots.
Djokovic lifted the momentum at a key moment in the second set, forcing a decider with a break on his first set point in the 10th game.
Djokovic maintained the momentum in the third set, but again Nishikori came out swinging.
The Serbian got the break in the second game, only for Nishikori to level at 4-4.
He saved match point at 5-4 before going on to force the tiebreak. Although he saved a further two match points, Nishikori was unable to save a fourth as Djokovic sealed the win in just over three hours
Djokovic was to play Murray, who had an easier path to the final, winning his semi-final over French lucky loser Lucas Pouille in just over an hour 6-2, 6-1.
In the women’s draw, three-time champion Serena Williams said she cannot wait after setting up the first all-US women’s clay-court final in 14 years.
She was scheduled to play Madison Keys.
The last time two Americans faced off in the final of a WTA claycourt event was in 2002, when Williams beat her older sister, Venus, to win her maiden French Open at Roland Garros.
Serena beat 35th-ranked Irina-Camelia Begu 6-4, 6-1 in Saturday’s semi-final, while 24th-ranked Keys defeated Wimbledon finalist Garbine Muguruza 7-6 (7/5), 6-4.
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