Novak Djokovic outlasts Stefanos Tsitsipas over two days to achieve Rome semis

Top-ranked Novak Djokovic regained his cool after throwing his racket off the court docket in a grueling, rain-delayed 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 quarterfinal victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas on the Italian Open on Saturday.
Djokovic fought again from breaks of his serve in every of the ultimate two units to achieve his eighth consecutive semifinal on the Foro Italico — the place he has lifted the trophy 5 instances, most lately final September when the event was moved to later within the yr due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Novak Djokovic comes again from 2-4 within the 2nd and from 1-3 and 4-5* within the third, beats Stefanos Tsitsipas 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 in 3h16 to achieve the semifinals in Rome.
Incredible match.
pic.twitter.com/eXTXXPaJ2o
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) May 15, 2021
Djokovic doesn’t have a lot time to relaxation earlier than he faces dwelling favourite Lorenzo Sonego in a while Saturday for a spot within the remaining. Sonego was backed by a loud crowd when he rallied previous seventh-ranked Andrey Rublev 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 to achieve his first Masters semifinal. Their match was washed out on Friday.
Fans had been allowed to fill 25% of capability as a part of the Italian authorities’s reopening plan. Nine-time Rome champion Rafael Nadal is dealing with big-serving American Reilly Opelka within the different semifinal.
In the ladies’s event, French Open champion Iga Swiatek beat two-time Rome champion Elina Svitolina 6-2, 7-5 to arrange a semifinal later in opposition to 17-year-old American Coco Gauff. Karolina Pliskova was enjoying Petra Martic within the different semifinal.
The Djokovic-Tsitsipas match started on Friday however was suspended in a single day with Tsitsipas main 2-1 within the second set and up a break — with play having already been interrupted for three-and-a-half hours because of the intermittent rain.
Facing a break level early within the third set, Djokovic tried a troublesome drop shot that landed on prime of the web wire and agonizingly bounced again into his facet of the tennis court docket — handing Tsitsipas a 2-1 lead.
Djokovic reacted by throwing his racket angrily into the promoting boards lining the facet of the court docket, which drew a code violation warning for unsportsmanlike conduct from the chair umpire.
Djokovic’s mood was additionally a difficulty throughout his second-round match this week in opposition to Taylor Fritz, when he fumed on the umpire for not stopping play quickly sufficient attributable to rain. Last yr, Djokovic was disqualified from the US Open for unintentionally hitting a line choose within the throat with a ball.