Rafael Nadal continued his clay domination on Friday, rallying from a set down to reach the Italian Open semifinals with a 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory over Fabio Fognini.
The World No. 2 needs to lift an eighth career title at the Foro Italico on Sunday to return to the top of the ATP rankings after losing that position to Roger Federer last week.
Spaniard Nadal dropped the opening set in an hour but re-grouped effortlessly as he swept past the Italian in the one-sided second and third sets of their quarterfinal tie.
“I'm not used to playing so early,” Nadal said of his midday start. “But I'm very happy to be in the semifinals.
“This was a very important win for me today.”
Nadal also beat Fognini in Rome in 2013 in their first-ever meeting.
This was his 11th victory in 14 meetings with the 21st-ranked Italian, and sixth in a row.
It was the first time in four years that Nadal managed to win his quarterfinal tie in Rome.
Fourth seed Elina Svitolina, meanwhile, dropped serve in the first set but steadied to beat former No. 1 Angelique Kerber 6-4, 6-4 in the women’s quarterfinals.
The Ukrainian dropped serve in the sixth game of the opening set but then broke her opponent twice to win the first set on the way to her sixth straight victory over the German, who dropped to 5-8 in the series.
Maria Sharapova took more than three hours to get past Jelena Ostapenko 6-7(6), 6-4, 7-5 and join Svitolina and Anett Kontaveit in the semifinals.
The results: Quarterfinals: Men: Rafael Nadal bt Fabio Fognini 4-6, 6-1, 6-2; Marin Cilic bt Pablo Carreno Busta 6-3, 6-3. Women: Maria Sharapova bt Jelena Ostapenko 6-7(6), 6-4, 7-5; Elina Svitolina bt Angelique Kerber 6-4, 6-4; Anett Kontaveit bt Caroline Wozniacki 6-3, 6-1 .
