Nadal gets his revenge against Zverev in Rome, moves on to semifinal

Rafael Nadal was able to avenge his Madrid Open defeat by defeating Alexander Zverev in straight sets at the Rome Masters.

Both players endured very tough matches in the previous round but today Nadal was able to perform better beating Zverev 6-3 6-4. Zverev notably said after his match against Nishikori that he felt extremely tired in the match and some of that showed today.

Nadal asserted his dominant play early on taking a boule break lead 4-0 before Zverev was able to pull one back. Zverev starting playing a bit better after that but Nadal was able to keep the German at bay and ultimately ended the first set with 6-3.

Zverev served much better in the 2nd set hitting his first serve at a higher rate but that did not change things too much. He saved a break point in the first game and even had a huge chance to go in the match a few games later when he had 3 consecutive break points.

Nadal won five points in a row to win that game before turning a 15-40 deficit in the next game into a break. He would then confirm it to take a 4-2 lead. From there it was a rather straightforward finish for Nadal who ended it with 6-4.

A straightforward match for Nadal who looked like the fresher player, more focused and energized in rallies. The Spaniard moved on to the semifinal where he will face Reilly Opelka who defeated Delbonis earlier in the day.