Rafael Nadal will take on Alexander Zverev in the men's singles final of the Italian Open 2018 — Rome Masters on Sunday, May 20.
When is the final match and how to watch it live in India
The much-anticipated final between Nadal and Zverev will not start before 4 pm local time, 7:30 pm IST and 2 pm BST.
Sony ESPN and Sony ESPN HD will provide live television coverage of the match in India. The live stream will be available on Sony Liv.
Nadal vs Zverev- Rome Masters 2018 preview
Nadal will go back to the top of the ATP rankings should he win the final at Rome, having relinquished his title following his quarter-final loss to Dominic Thiem. Nadal closed in on an eighth Rome Masters title as he dismissed old rival Djokovic 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 on Saturday to reach the final for a record 10th time.
The Spaniard played a brilliant game against old foe Djokovic, who had improved leaps and bounds since the start of the year and showed flashes of his vintage self as he went marauding with a surge of winners, mostly from his forehand. However, Nadal managed to tame the initial tide as the set went into a tie break.
It was here that Nadal showed his class and beat Djokovic 7-4, a performance par magnificence from both these all time greats. Nadal, still unbeaten in semi-finals at the Foro Italico, unleashed a trademark clay-court attack after winning a tight first set lasting well over an hour to clinch the second set with consummate ease.
The 31-year-old world number two cut the deficit in his head-to-head series with Djokovic to 26-25 since they first faced off in 2006. He will now face German Zverev, who beat Marin Cilic in straight sets 7-6 7-5, in what was another humdinger of a fight between two world class players. Zverev won the first set tiebreak 15-13 but was more composed in the second set where he broke Cilic at 5-5 to make the finals.
Zverev will aim for an upset of Nadal as well as a claycourt Masters double after winning Madrid last weekend. The 21-year-old will be playing his fifth final in the last 10 Masters events -- he won Rome and Montreal in 2017 and played the Miami final this season. Saturday's win over Cilic extended his current win streak to 13 matches while he has 30 match wins in total in 2018.
Italian Open 2018 final live stream and global TV listings
US: Tennis Channel
UK: TV - Sky Sports; Live stream: Sky Go
Germany: Sky
Japan: NHK
Malaysia: Astro Supersport
South Africa: Supersport
