Djokovic sets up another Murray final
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WORLD No. 1 Novak Djokovic overcame a self-inflicted ankle injury to battle into the Rome Masters final after a thrilling 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/5) win over Kei Nishikori in Italy on Saturday.
It means Djokovic will meet Britain’s Andy Murray, the second seed, in a second successive Masters final a week after beating the Scot in Madrid.
Djokovic, the top seed and defending champion, had laid the foundations for a fifth title in Rome with a hard-fought and classy win over seven-time champion Rafael Nadal on Friday.
But the Serbian almost scuppered his hopes when he inadvertently bruised his left ankle with his racket as he hit it against his shoe to shake off the red dirt.
Later, he said: “A message to all the kids out there: don’t hit your own ankle when you’re cleaning your shoes.”
If left Djokovic requiring medical treatment, and appeared to rob him of the early momentum against the Japanese sixth seed. “It was an awkward situation in the first game, I hit myself pretty hard on the ankle and bruised the bone,” he explained. “It hurt for a while, and though the pain faded it returned towards the end of the match.”
Nishikori said: “I played really good and aggressive in the first set, and in the second I stopped doing that and his game got better.”
Murray had an easier path to the final, winning his semifinal over French lucky loser Lucas Pouille in just over an hour.
Meanwhile, three-time champion Serena Williams said she can’t wait after setting up the first all-American women’s claycourt final in 14 years.
She will meet Madison Keys.
The last time two Americans faced off in the final of a WTA claycourt event was in 2002, when Williams beat her older sister Venus to win her maiden French Open at Roland Garros.
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