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Italian Open semifinals sees four of the best in men’s singles

By Harry Floyd

ROME, ITALY - MAY 18: Rafael Nadal of Spain celebrates after defeating Fabio Fognini of Italy his Quarter Final match during day six of The Internazionali BNL d'Italia 2018 at Foro Italico on May 18, 2018 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
ROME, ITALY - MAY 18: Rafael Nadal of Spain celebrates after defeating Fabio Fognini of Italy his Quarter Final match during day six of The Internazionali BNL d'Italia 2018 at Foro Italico on May 18, 2018 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images) /
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The Italian Open semifinals are upon us and there are some stellar names in the mix. Four of the best players in men’s singles square off.

Three veteran greats and one of the best up and comers round out the final four at the 2018 Italian Open. Rafael Nadal is the top seed this week at the event. He is a seven-time champion at the tournament and a regular at this stage of the process. Also in action though is the defending champion in Alexander Zverev. Novak Djokovic, a four-time champion, is in the mix and rounding out the final four is Croatian tennis star Marin Cilic.

Four seeded players square off for the Italian Open semifinals this weekend in Rome.

Nadal might be the favorite but nothing is a given right now. He takes on the Serbian superstar Djokovic. Nole comes into play a the 11th seed. He is continuing his return from an ongoing right elbow injury and has seen enough success to hang around high in the rankings. A healthy Djokovic is easily considered a top contender and he is getting back to his old self as of late. Deep tournament runs, like this one, are a major positive sign for the former world No. 1 moving forward. A statement victory over Nadal would do wonders for his momentum heading into play at the 2018 French Open. Nadal is the favorite at Roland Garros, and throughout all of the clay court season, but Djokovic cannot be discounted.

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Alexander Zverev meets Australian Open runner-up Marin Cilic in the semifinals. Sascha is coming off of back-to-back wins in his last two tournaments. He is red hot right now.

Zverev might have the edge over the Croatian great in the semifinals this week. Cilic has held his own the past few months, but Sascha is surging.

His two titles this month have catapulted him into the world No. 3 ranking in men’s singles with conviction. He is also the defending champion in Rome and adding yet another title to his stretch of tennis this month has got to be on his mind. If he can keep up this type of play, Zverev ought to be someone to watch at Roland Garros. As the men continue on in Rome, the women’s singles side is also seeing some of the best in the sport go at it. They are sure to also have a thrilling finish at the Italian Open this month. Top seeded Simona Halep remains alive. She faces Russian great Maria Sharapova next. All eyes are on their match.

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The quarterfinals saw huge matchups that would shape and even more exciting semis. Stay tuned to see if Nadal can continue his dominance over the action in Rome, if Sascha can defend his title, or if Djokovic or Cilic can pull the spoiler title-run in Rome.

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