Germany’s Alexander Zverev won a battle of the giants to down unseeded American John Isner 6-4 6-7, 6-1 and reach the Italian Open final on Saturday.
Zverev’s victory made the tall 20-year-old the youngest ATP Masters 1000 finalist since a 19-year-old Novak Djokovic in Miami in 2007.
The German will meet world number two Djokovic in Sunday’s final, with the Serbian dispatching Austrian Dominic Thiem in the other semi-final.
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Twelve-time grand slam champion Djokovic thrashed Nadal’s conqueror, Thiem 6-1 6-0.
Djokovic was also making his second appearance of the day after a rain-delayed quarter final win over Argentina’s Juan Martin Del Potro.
It was a timely return to form ,for the former world number 1, ahead of the French Open.
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