Rome Masters: Nadal, Djokovic to renew rivalry in semis

World number two Rafael Nadal will aim to book his spot in the finals of the Rome Masters when he squares off with his long-time rival and Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic in the last-four clash here on Saturday.

The Spanish tennis maestro had earlier stormed into the semi-finals after rebounding strongly from a set down and clinch a convincing 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory over Fabio Fognini of Italy in a thrilling last-eight match that lasted two hours and 14 minutes.

Eleventh seed Djokovic, on the other hand, also rallied from a set down to register a 2-6, 6-1, 6-3 win over Japan's Kei Nishikori to cement a spot in the last-four.

It should be noted that Nadal and Djokovic have faced each 50 times--which is the maximum number of times any two players have faced each other in the Open Era.

The duo's most recent meeting came in last May, when 31-year-old Nadal went on to win the semi-finals of the Madrid Open.

While Djokovic leads their Head-to-Head rivalry 26-24, Nadal holds a 15-7 advantage on his favourite clay-court.

Nadal, who recently notched his 11th Barcelona and Monte Carlo Masters titles, can replace Roger Federer at the top of the ATP rankings if he manages to lift his record eighth title in Rome.