IT was a case of 10th time lucky for pint-sized Argentinian Diego Schwartzman, who after losing to the King of the Clay Rafael Nadal nine times, finally broke through for a win by ousting him in straight sets at the Rome Masters. Nadal has a 91.8 per cent winning record and 59 ATP Tour titles on clay court, but that all meant nothing by the end of their quarter final as Schwartzman stunned the nine-time Rome Masters champion 6-2 7-5 in two hours and four minutes.

It was not simply a 9-0 head-to-head in favour of the world number 2. Of the 24 sets the pair had played, Nadal had won 22 of them. In the match, Schwartzman was the far superior player on serve, winning 64 and 58 per cent of his first and second serve points, breaking five times to Nadal’s 48 and 44 per cent, and only two breaks.

“It was crazy. Tennis is crazy. Our performance is always crazy. The past three weeks were really bad for me,” Schwartzman said post-match. “Today I played my best tennis. Very similar to Roland Garros against Rafa three years ago and I’m very happy. “I was not thinking to beat him really because I was not playing good [lately]. “But today I did my best and I’m very happy.”

The result left the commentators speechless in what they were witnessing. While it might not have been a Grand Slam final, it was certainly a massive upset against the best clay courter of all time. Now Schwarztzman heads into a semi-final against Canadian up and comer, Denis Shapovalov.

“He’s playing really well since we came back in the US. He was playing good,” Schwartzman said. “He’s a really good guy… It’s going to be really tough, but I think if I play like today I’m going to have chances.”

Shapovalov had a tough battle against 2014 Rome Masters semi-finalist, Grigor Dimitrov with a 6-2 3-6 6-2 victory over the Bulgarian in one hour and 51 minutes. It marked the Canadian’s 100th ATP Tour win, and he is in red-hot form, winning nine of his 11 matches over the past month.

“Grigor’s a player I’ve looked up to from juniors. I really love the way he plays,” Shapovalov said post-match. “He’s beaten me twice before, so it’s really nice to get the win and it’s a huge step for my career.”

If the 12th seed can defeat Schwartzman in the semis, he will not only advance to the Rome Masters final, but move into the Top 10 of the ATP Tour rankings for the first time in his career.

Meanwhile new tournament favourite, Novak Djokovic got through to the semi-finals but not without a challenge, winning in three sets over German qualifier Dominik Koepfer. The Serbian world number one moved to 29-1 this year off the back of a 6-3 4-6 6-3 win that lasted two hours and 11 minutes.

The 97th ranked German gave Djokovic plenty to think about, but in the end the world number one won 65 per cent of his first serve points and 52 per cent of his second serve points, breaking six times. He could have capitalised even more, with Koepfer saving a massive 15 break points, whilst making good on all four of his own against the Serbian, which is an extremely rare feat.

“[Dominik] has a good pop on the serve, so you have to guess,” Djokovic said post-match. “He steps in when he is feeling the ball, he steps in on both the forehand and backhand and moves well. I think his game is really ideal for this surface and him reaching the quarter-finals proves he is in good form.”

If Djokovic can hold the trophy aloft, he will break the record for the most Masters titles won with 36. A feat that surpass Nadal who was also on 35 with the Serbian. The top seed first has to deal with Norwegian Casper Ruud who is a known clay court specialist, something Djokovic is well aware of.

“Clay is definitely [Casper’s] preferred surface,” he said. “This is where he feels most comfortable. [It is the] semi-finals and it is anybody’s game… I’ll do some homework and be ready for that one.”

Ruud ended the run of the final Italian – Matteo Berrettini – in their quarter final with the Norwegian taking just under three hours to win 4-6 6-3 7-6 to come-from-behind and post a massive win. Ruud won 55 per cent of his second serve points to be the difference, and 61 per cent off Berrettini’s second serve in a battle of two natural clay courters. It marked the first time Ruud enters a Masters semi-final and will battle Djokovic for a spot in the final.

“It feels great [to be in a Masters 1000 semi-final], obviously,” Ruud said post-match. “These [are the] things that all players work hard for every day in practice, [to] try to make it far in the big tournaments and big events. “This is my first time in the semi-finals and today was even my first time in the quarter-finals. I’m just enjoying the moment, I guess. I’m in a good flow. I have gained good confidence in my game this week.”