"I did the thing I had to do today" - reflects Nadal on win over Opelka

Rafael Nadal defeated Reilly Opelka in straight sets to move to the Rome Masters final where he will play Novak Djokovic.

It wasn't a showcase of tennis masterclass by Nadal but it was enough to defeat the American 6-4 6-4 and move to the final. One of the critical moments came early in the match when Nadal saved four BP's to make it 2-2. On the match itself Nadal said:

“I did the thing that I had to do today. It is not an easy, beautiful match to play and, [against] a player like Reilly, [you aren’t going to] have rhythm. You know you are going to have just a few options on your return and you know he can play very aggressive from the baseline."

Nadal highlighted the importance of saving the early break points and not fall back against a big server like Opelka:

"That is what happened at the beginning of the match. He had some options [for the] break and it was super important for me to save those moments.”

For Nadal the week in Rome is a positive development after his Madrid Open run was cut short:

“I did a lot of things well [and played with a] good spirit during all the week.[There are] a lot of positive things I did on court this week and it is important for my confidence to be back in such an important final like this one.”

The match against Opelka was Nadal's 500th on clay with the Spaniard holding a 91.6 win rate. The biggest test for him however will come tomorrow when he faces Novak Djokovic in the final.