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Top favorites Novak Djokovic and Simona Halep advanced to the final of the Italian Open on Sunday when fans returned to the stands at Foro Italico for the first time.
World number one Djokovic beat Norwegian Casper Ruud 7-5, 6-3 and will face Argentine Diego Schwartzman for his fifth title in Rome.
Simona Halep, the women’s seed, reached a third final where she will face defending champion Karolina Pliskova for a trophy that the Romanian narrowly missed in 2017 and 2018.
Djokovic had been on a collision course for another final showdown with Nadal a week before the French Open at Roland Garros.
But Schwartzman eliminated the nine-time winner of Rome in the quarter-finals and booked his ticket to the final with a 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (7/4) victory over Canadian Denis Shapovalov.
“Of course, you know, with Nadal in the final and without Nadal in the final it makes a big difference,” said Djokovic, who has played five of his nine finals against Nadal in Rome.
“So it’s going to be strange not to face him, but at the same time, I will not underestimate anyone who comes on the court against me tomorrow.”
The Serb can win a 36th Masters record on Monday. He is currently tied at 35 with Nadal.
Of his four titles in Rome, the last was in 2015, with three lost finals in 2016, 2017 and 2019.
Top Women’s Seed Clash
World number two Halep edged Garbine Muguruza 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 to face second-seeded Pliskova, who edged out Czech compatriot Marketa Vondrousova 6-2, 6-4.
“Thank God I don’t play against (Elina) Svitolina, because I lost twice against her,” Halep joked about the Ukrainian who lost twice in the final.
Wimbledon champion Halep held off her Spanish rival.
After tying it all in one set, the ninth seed fell to 5-1 in the third, before pulling out a series of winners to bring the game to 4-5.
However, serving to stay in the match, he committed successive double faults to give Halep the victory.
Halep extended his winning streak this season to 13 straight wins, with his last loss coming against Muguruza at the Australian Open.
He won the Dubai title in February, before the coronavirus lockdown, returning to claim victory in Prague last month after skipping the US Open.
Since Sunday, the government of Italy allowed up to 1,000 spectators at outdoor sporting events for the first time since the coronavirus shutdown.
“It was definitely good to have some people out there,” Pliskova said.
“It felt super empty, like super lonely.”
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