Novak Djokovic overcame his unhappiness about the court conditions to beat Spain’s David Ferrer 6-4 6-4 and reach the Italian Open final. The top seed raised his game at key points in both sets to earn the breaks.
However, the Serb complained to the umpire in the 2nd set about the conditions on the clay at the Foro Italico.
Djokovic is scheduled to face either Stan Wawrinka or Roger Federer in Sunday’s final with the Swiss pair due to play their semi-final at 19:00 BST.
The world number 1 broke the clay court specialist early in the opening set.
Ferrer battled hard to break Djokovic’s service in a thrilling sixth game of the second set where advantage switched hands several times before the Spaniard sent a backhand return out.
Ferrer’s chances of making the Italian Open final appeared to dip as Djokovic broke in the ninth game to take a 5-4 lead and then serve out for the win.
Djokovic is now on track for his fourth Rome title, having won his third in the space of six years in 2014 when he stopped Rafael Nadal from claiming an eighth crown in the Italian capital.
Spanish 10th seed Carla Suarez Navarro will meet Maria Sharapova in Sunday’s Italian Open final in Rome.
Suarez Navarro managed to beat second seed Simona Halep 2-6 6-3 7-5 for a 4tth win out of four against the Romanian.
Sharapova, the two-time Rome champion, overcame Australia-based Russian Daria Gavrilova 7-5 6-3.
The victory, combined with Halep’s loss, means Sharapova will be second seed for the French Open which starts on 24 May.
Suarez Navarro is the form player on the WTA Tour this year with 31 wins and will be seeking her second career title against Sharapova.
Nevertheless, she was 2 points away from losing in the 10th game of the final set before snatching the win.
The Barcelona-based 26-year-old needed seven set points to close out the second set and 3 to end the 3rd.
Sharapova had lost to Gavrilova in their only previous meeting in Miami in March and the qualifier, ranked 78 in the world, put in a spirited performance this time around again in the early stages. But she suffered an abdominal muscle injury and needed to leave the court for treatment late in the first set.
Despite being hampered by the injury, Gavrilova raised her game at the start of the second set and broke her opponent early to go 3-1 up.
But Sharapova regained her composure and her range to reach the final.
She leads Suarez Navarro 3-1 in their head-to-head encounters but Sunday’s decider will be their first meeting on clay.
Italian Open: Djokovic and Sharapova to play in the finals
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