• Nadal beats Djokovic 7-6 6-3
• Zverev downs Cilic 7-6 7-5

Germany’s Alexander Zverev celebrates winning his semi final match against Croatia’s Marin Cilic. Photo: Reuters

ROME: A rampant Rafa Nadal turned on the style to beat his old rival Novak Djokovic 7-6(4) 6-3 on Saturday and reach his first Italian Open final since 2014.

The top-seeded Spaniard will face defending champion Alexander Zverev who overcame fourth seed Marin Cilic of Croatia 7-6(13) 7-5 in the other semi-final.

The 21-year-old German, who won the Madrid Open last week, is the in-form player on the ATP Tour going into the French Open, chalking up his 13th win in a row to reach Sunday’s final.

Nadal’s clash with Djokovic, an open-era record 51st meeting between the two, was a thriller, with former world number one Djokovic producing his best performance since returning from a long-term elbow injury.

“Playing against him is always a big challenge,” Nadal said. “He played well, and it’s always the same against him. When you go down a little bit in level, he’s always there and you are in big trouble.”

Djokovic made the stronger start as Nadal struggled to get his first serves in, the Spaniard coughing up two break points in the opening game which his opponent squandered.

Nadal soon pounced however, breaking Djokovic to go 4-2 up before the Serb rode his forehand to a stunning recovery.

Djokovic, a four-times champion in Rome, was helped by a fortunate touch off the net cord that gave him two break points, and he converted for 5-4 before holding serve to draw level.

Nadal started the tiebreak as he began the match, a poor forehand volley handing Djokovic the initiative, but the Spaniard won the next two points on his opponent’s serve to retake control.

Djokovic clawed back to 3-3 but cracked after an unlucky touch off the tape put Nadal 6-4 up and the Spaniard wrapped up the set in 71 minutes.

Nadal carried his momentum into the second set, winning 10 of 11 points in a blur of vicious swerving forehands and clubbed backhands that brought him an early break and a 2-1 lead in the decider.

Djokovic still showed an appetite to fight back, forcing Nadal to three deuces in the eighth game of the second set before the Spaniard carved out a hold.

That failure ended the Serb’s resistance and Nadal won in style on his opponent’s serve, striking a punishing forehand down the line to seal victory.

Cilic proved a tough opponent for Zverev, going toe-to-toe with the youngster in a tiebreak lasting 20 minutes before the German ground down the wily 29-year-old to take the opener.

Second seed Zverev was still buzzing from going in front and immediately paid a heavy price as Cilic pounced to grab an early break.

But the German displayed nerves of steel, breaking the big-serving Croat to draw level before breaking him again to seal victory in just over two hours.

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Lyon’s Memphis Depay scores their third goal and completes his hat-trick, in the Ligue 1 match between Olympique Lyonnais and OGC Nice, at Groupama Stadium, Lyon, France, on Saturday May 19, 2018. Photo: Reuters

PARIS: Memphis Depay scored a hat trick as Lyon came from behind to beat Nice 3-2 and qualify for the Champions League at the expense of Marseille in the French league on Saturday.

Lyon, which had a one-point lead over Marseille ahead of the last round, kept its lead intact and finished in third place behind Paris Saint-Germain and deposed champion Monaco. The first three teams in the French league qualified for the Champions League.

“Lots of joy tonight, everybody was very focused and motivated,” said Lyon forward Nabil Fekir, who is widely expected to leave the club this summer. “It caps an exceptional season.”

Alassane Plea scored Nice’s goals.

Depay scored all three goals in the second half.

Nice coach Lucien Favre confirmed he will leave the club in the offseason.

MARSEILLE MISS OUT

After losing the Europa League final to Atletico Madrid on Wednesday, Marseille missed out on the Champions League for the second time despite beating Amiens 2-1.

“We had a superb season but our efforts did not pay off,” Marseille top striker Florian Thauvin said.

Marseille ended fourth and will play the Europa League next season alongside Rennes and Bordeaux.

LOPES SCORES TWICE

Monaco won at Troyes 3-0 and finished runner-up, 13 points behind PSG, which drew at Caen 0-0. The goalless draw guaranteed Caen stayed in the topflight while Troyes was demoted to the second division.

Monaco needed just one point to qualify for the Champions League but made sure it finished runner-up with a win. The Principality side was in complete control as Rony Lopes scored twice and Jordi Mboula sealed Troyes’ fate in added time.

Troyes finished 19th and joined last-place Metz in the second division.

Toulouse, which beat Guingamp 2-1, will have to win a playoff against a second-division club to remain in the topflight.

Elsewhere, Italian coach Claudio Ranieri won his last game in charge of mid-table Nantes, 1-0 over Strasbourg.

WEAH FIRST START

In the absence of Neymar, Edinson Cavani and Kylian Mbappe, PSG coach Unai Emery gave Timothy Weah — George Weah’s 18-year-old son — his first start in Caen.

Caen finished the season with only 27 goals, the worst total since Arles-Avignon was demoted with 21 in 2011.

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