Italian open
Ailing Nadal falls in Italian Open third round to Shapovalov
Defeat in Rome for 'King of Clay' Nadal casts doubt over his prospects at the upcoming French Open, where he has been crowned champion 13 times but faces a...
Ons Jabeur eased into the second round with a straight sets win over Sorana Cirstea but US Open champion Emma Raducanu was forced to retire from her first round against Bianca Andreescu, still struggling with a back injury she picked up in Madrid last week.
Djokovic and Nadal, who will be facing each other for the 57th time, last played in the 2020 French Open final which the Spaniard won in straight sets.
The defending champion won through 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 after 3hr 16min on court in the clash which had been suspended from Friday because of rain in the Italian capital.
Defending champion Djokovic needed just 70 minutes to sweep past Spain's Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-2, 6-1, with the Foro Italico venue filled to 25% of capacity.
The five-time Rome champion won through 6-2, 6-1 in 1hr 10min against the 48th-ranked Spaniard with the venue filled to 25 per cent of capacity.
"Hansen tested negative on site but has been withdrawn from the tournament as a precaution," the European tour said in a statement.
World number one Novak Djokovic booked a place in a 10th Rome final with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Norway's Casper Ruud.
World number one Djokovic, winner at the Madrid Open last week, produced an error-strewn performance in his 54th meeting with second-ranked Nadal.
The Spaniard will meet the winner of world number one Novak Djokovic’s clash with Diego Schwartzman on Sunday.
It is Rafael Nadal’s fourth straight semifinal on clay this season, but he has not managed to go further before.
The Japanese star was due to meet Madrid Open champion and sixth seed Kiki Bertens for a place in the final four in Rome.
Roger Federer, a four-time finalist in Rome, trailed 0-4 before dropping the first set, coming back in the second and saving two match points in the third set tie-break.
With rain having washed out Wednesday’s play, Federer along with Nadal and top seed Djokovic all face playing back-to-back matches on Thursday if they want to reach the quarter-finals.
In Tuesday’s statement, the 23-time Grand Slam winner insisted she would still be competing in the French Open later in May.
Williams came out on top of a tight contest that went all the way to a third-set tie-break despite her winning five games on the bounce.
The win gave the Spaniard his 56th title on clay and he will reclaim the world number one ranking from Roger Federer when the revised ATP standings are released on Monday.
Svitolina wrapped up the victory in 67 minutes on her second match point, leaping into the air in celebration as Halep tamely netted a backhand.
The meeting, an open-era record 51st been the two adversaries, was played out in typically thrilling fashion.