Italy's Sara Errani, right, greets Serbia's Jelena Jankovic after winning her semifinal match at the Italian open tennis tournament in Rome, Saturday, May 17. (AP Photo)
ROME, May 17 (Agencies): Sara Errani became the first home player to reach the Italian Open final in nearly 30 years with a 6-3, 7-5 win over sixth-seeded Jelena Jankovic on Saturday. Using the vocal crowd support to her advantage, the 10th-seeded Errani fought back from a 4-1 deficit in the second set, while Jankovic appeared rattled as she continuously questioned line calls.
"There were a few moments when I thought I might not pull it off but the fans were huge," said Errani, who is attempting to become the first Italian to win the tournament since Raffaella Reggi took the 1985 title in Taranto. The last Italian man to win was Adriano Panatta back in 1976. Errani's opponent in Sunday's final will be either defending champion Serena Williams or 11th-seeded Ana Ivanovic, who were playing later. In the men's semifinals, seven-time Rome champion Rafael Nadal meets Grigor Dimitrov and Novak Djokovic plays Milos Raonic. It's already Errani's best result since reaching the 2012 French Open final, and gives her momentum heading back to Roland Garros next week.
Jankovic, the 2007 and 2008 Rome champion, repeatedly asked the chair umpire to come down and check marks but none of them were overturned, resulting only in the crowd stepping up its encouragement for Errani.
"Just do it, Sara. Just do it, Sara," the fans cheered late in the second set. The highly partisan crowd frequently applauded Errani while points were still being played and cheered even when Jankovic double faulted. "(The crowd) was all on her side but it's normal, she's the local player," Jankovic said. "I tried to stay focused on my game, and play my tennis but she was the better player today."
Errani was playing in the doubles semifinals later and her partner Roberta Vinci sat in her box to provide emotional support. Her parents and brother were on hand, too. "Having them here is key," Errani said. "They give me that extra motivation so I'm not just playing for myself but for them, too, and that makes me even stronger."Known for her consistency, Errani committed just 11 unforced errors to Jankovic's 28. Jankovic attempted to attack Errani's abbreviated serving style but she had more trouble on her own serve, and faced 16 break points -- five of which Errani converted.
Nadal beats Murray in epic quarterfinal
ROME, May 17 (AFP): World number one Rafael Nadal dug deep to maintain his chances of defending his Rome Masters title after a gutsy come-from-behind 1-6, 6-3, 7-5 win over Andy Murray in the quarterfinals on Friday.
Murray had won only five of his last 18 matches against Nadal but held the bragging rights from their last two -- a walkover win in the semis of the Miami Masters and victory in the final of the Tokyo Open in 2011, both hardcourt events. And despite doubts lingering over the Scot's form following an absence from the tour due to back surgery at the start of the year, Murray produced a stunning performance at the Foro Italico to underline his form ahead of the French Open later this month.
The Scot raced to a 6-1 win in the opening set, leaving clay-court king Nadal to tinker with tactics in the second set in a bid to pull level. In a much tighter third set, Nadal maintained his momentum by winning three breaks to two for Murray. The Spaniard broke in the first game, only for Murray to break back immediately in a second game which saw the Scot pull off a stunning pull-back shot which stunned Nadal and had the crowd in raptures.
That gave Murray some momentum of his own and the British number one held serve to go 2-1 in front. Both players held serve in the next two games and with the score at 3-2 Murray raced to triple break point to break again and take a two-game lead after Nadal netted a return from a powerful serve. Sensing defeat, the Spaniard upped his game and broke back to level at 4-4. Both players held serve over the next two games, but Nadal made the difference when he raced to triple break point in the 11th game before breaking for a third time in the set for a 6-5 lead and then serving out for the win.
