Rome (AFP)

Rafael Nadal, in search of a tenth coronation at the Masters 1000 in Rome just over two weeks before Roland Garros, took his place in the semi-finals on Friday by taking revenge on Alexander Zverev, who had eliminated him in Madrid .

A week after losing for the first time on clay against the German (6th in the world), the Spaniard, seeded N.2, this time dictated his law (6-3, 6-4) in two hours .

After his early eliminations at the Masters 1000 in Monte-Carlo and Madrid, each time in the quarter-finals, Nadal confirms his rise to power as Roland Garros approaches with a very solid match where he left little behind. hopes in Zverev.

After his marathon of nearly 3:30 on Thursday against the Canadian Denis Shapovalov, where he had run a lot behind the score, Nadal this time took things in hand from the start by breaking the German on his first two service games to lead 4 -0.

Zverev, crowned last week in Madrid, then tried to react by being more aggressive.

But too late to prevent "Rafa" from pocketing the sleeve, despite a heavy fall, without consequences, after having tripped over a line while slipping.

In the second set, Zverev kept up the pressure but fell on a rock: Nadal first brilliantly erased three break points against him (at 1-2, 0-40) before stealing in the wake of the service from German.

Thanks to an uncompromising defense and a newfound precision, after Thursday's mistakes against Shapovalov.

This advantage, Nadal will not let go, not without saving three more break points on the last game before concluding on his first match point.

"I played a solid game, with few mistakes, it's an important victory for me," said Nadal.

"The conditions were different from Madrid, I was able to control the game more," he added, congratulating himself "on being still there, in good shape, after the battle" of the eighth against the Canadian.

"Rafa", record holder for success in Rome (9 in 11 finals) will meet in the semifinals the American Reilly Opelka (47th), the surprise guest of the last four, endowed with a terrible service with his giant stature (2 , 11 m).

"He's a great server, a service that is almost impossible to return, we'll see ... We'll have to be patient," said Nadal.

© 2021 AFP