ROME: Serbia's Novak Djokovic, the second seed, cruised into the semifinals of the Rome Masters Saturday after a rain-interrupted 6-1, 6-4 win over Juan del Potro.
Djokovic, the second seed and the only former Masters winner remaining in the draw, will now face Dominic Thiem later Saturday after the Austrian starlet sent seven-time champion Rafael Nadal of Spain crashing out in the quarters.
Heavy downpours and storms in the Italian capital which began on Friday night mean organizers are playing catch-up in a bid to bring the event to a close by Sunday.
Djokovic had taken a one-set lead over unseeded Argentinian Del Potro, who held a 2-1 lead in the second set before heavy rain halted play.
The first men's semifinal is between 20-year-old German Alexander Zverev and big-serving American John Isner.
Elsewhere, Romania's Simona Halep reached her first final in the WTA event at the Rome Masters on Saturday after sweeping Dutchwoman Kiki Bertens 7-5, 6-1 in the semifinal clash.
Halep, the No. 6 seed who reached the semifinals in the Italian capital in 2013 and 2015, will now meet the winner of the other semifinal between Garbine Muguruza and Elina Svitolina.
Muguruza, the defending French Open champion, ended American Venus Williams' run on Friday while Ukrainian eighth seed Svitolina stunned Czech second seed Karolina Pliskova.
Nadal, meanwhile, said he intends to have a free weekend before ramping up his preparations for Roland Garros from Monday.
"Tomorrow I'll be in Mallorca fishing or playing golf, or another thing. I'm going to rest a little bit, I think I deserve it," said Nadal.
"Then from Monday and Tuesday I will start to prepare for Roland Garros. It's an important event for me.
"If you do things well, you have more chances in Roland Garros. I hope to play my best tennis in Roland Garros."
Nadal, given a first round bye, played only three games of his second round match with Nicolas Almagro before his unseeded compatriot retired injured on Wednesday.
The 30-year-old made amends for his comparative lack of playing time with a 6-3, 6-4 win over American Jack Sock on Thursday.
But from the outset against Thiem, who had also lost to the Spanish star in Barcelona, Nadal looked in trouble.
The Austrian's serve, precision and movement were near flawless and soon had Nadal hitting shots wide of the mark.
As the center court crowd steadily got behind the 23-year-old upstart, Nadal's confidence waned.
Thiem, who has a 17-3 record on clay this year, will now look to reach his fourth final of 2017.
However, he is 0-4 in career meetings with Djokovic.
Djokovic, the second seed and the only former Masters winner remaining in the draw, will now face Dominic Thiem later Saturday after the Austrian starlet sent seven-time champion Rafael Nadal of Spain crashing out in the quarters.
Heavy downpours and storms in the Italian capital which began on Friday night mean organizers are playing catch-up in a bid to bring the event to a close by Sunday.
Djokovic had taken a one-set lead over unseeded Argentinian Del Potro, who held a 2-1 lead in the second set before heavy rain halted play.
The first men's semifinal is between 20-year-old German Alexander Zverev and big-serving American John Isner.
Elsewhere, Romania's Simona Halep reached her first final in the WTA event at the Rome Masters on Saturday after sweeping Dutchwoman Kiki Bertens 7-5, 6-1 in the semifinal clash.
Halep, the No. 6 seed who reached the semifinals in the Italian capital in 2013 and 2015, will now meet the winner of the other semifinal between Garbine Muguruza and Elina Svitolina.
Muguruza, the defending French Open champion, ended American Venus Williams' run on Friday while Ukrainian eighth seed Svitolina stunned Czech second seed Karolina Pliskova.
Nadal, meanwhile, said he intends to have a free weekend before ramping up his preparations for Roland Garros from Monday.
"Tomorrow I'll be in Mallorca fishing or playing golf, or another thing. I'm going to rest a little bit, I think I deserve it," said Nadal.
"Then from Monday and Tuesday I will start to prepare for Roland Garros. It's an important event for me.
"If you do things well, you have more chances in Roland Garros. I hope to play my best tennis in Roland Garros."
Nadal, given a first round bye, played only three games of his second round match with Nicolas Almagro before his unseeded compatriot retired injured on Wednesday.
The 30-year-old made amends for his comparative lack of playing time with a 6-3, 6-4 win over American Jack Sock on Thursday.
But from the outset against Thiem, who had also lost to the Spanish star in Barcelona, Nadal looked in trouble.
The Austrian's serve, precision and movement were near flawless and soon had Nadal hitting shots wide of the mark.
As the center court crowd steadily got behind the 23-year-old upstart, Nadal's confidence waned.
Thiem, who has a 17-3 record on clay this year, will now look to reach his fourth final of 2017.
However, he is 0-4 in career meetings with Djokovic.
