Nadal beats Djokovic, to seek 8th Italian Open title in final

Rome, May 19 (IANS) Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal, the World No. 2, beat Serbia's Novak Djokovic 7-6 (4), 6-3 on Saturday, and is to seek his eighth Italian Open title in the final.

Top seeded and a seven-time champion in Rome, Nadal needed one hour and 56 minutes to beat his Serbian opponent, currently World No. 18, reports Efe.

Nadal, the recent champion at the Monte-Carlo Masters and the Barcelona Open, earned his 25th victory out of 51 matches against Djokovic, himself a four-time champion in Rome.

In the final, Rafa is to face the winner of the match between Germany's Alexander Zverev, world No. 3, and Croatia's Marin Cilic, world No. 5.

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