Nole is one victory away from lifting his fourth trophy in the Eternal City.
World no.1 Novak Djokovic will have the opportunity to defend his Internazionali BNL d’Italia title after ousting 2010 finalist David Ferrer 6-4, 6-4 on Saturday in the semi-finals of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Rome.
The top-seeded Serb won his 21st straight match, beating the Spaniard in one hour and 35 minutes. Novak reached his 34th ATP Masters 1000 final (23-10) and 76th overall (52-23).
Djokovic broke once in each set and saved all three break points he faced to beat Ferrer for the ninth time in a row (H2H 15-5). He improved to a 34-2 record of the season.
“Comparing to the previous matches, this was definitely the best so far,” Novak said. “It’s satisfying, gives me reason to believe I can play at this level and maybe even better tomorrow. I did have some ups and downs in terms of overall performance in my first three matches. Today, consistency was the right word to use.”
Match statistics: aces (4-1), double faults (0-1), winners (26-17), unforced errors (24-17), total points won (66-58).
Novak will contest his sixth final at Foro Italico on Sunday at 16:00 CET when he meets no.2 seed Roger Federer (18-20 H2H). The Swiss defeated his countryman Stan Wawrinka 6:4 6:2.
The Belgrade native conquered Rome in 2008, 2011 and 2014. He is looking to win his 24th Masters 1000 title, which would surpass Federer (23) and be three short of Nadal (27).
Photo: Getty Images
