DIEGO Schwartzman will take on world number one Novak Djokovic in the final of the Rome Masters after winning his semi-final against Denis Shapovalov. The eighth seed will eye off a top 10 ATP Tour ranking with an upset win over Djokovic, who took out unseeded clay court specialist Casper Ruud in the other semi-final.

It took three hours and 15 minutes, but the diminutive Argentinian got the job done against the talented up and coming Canadian, winning 6-4 5-7 7-6. The two ‘DS’s have completely opposite games and it showed with the power player of Shapovalov serving 10 aces, but eight double faults, and winning 66 per cent of his first serve points.

Schwartzman on the other hand, did not serve an ace, but had a much higher serving percentage of 69 per cent, and won 54 per cent of his second serve points. Both players broke the opposition six times and in the end, Schwartzman won just one more point than his opponent, winning the third set tiebreaker, 7-4.

“I’m very, very happy. I think today was a crazy match, it was really tough for us,” Schwartzman said post-match. “On my side I’m very happy because I have the win.”

In reaching the Rome Masters final, Schwartzman became the first Argentinian to reach the Rome Masters final in 15 years, and if he can get up, will become the first player from his country in more than 30 years to achieve the feat.

“I think if I win I’m going to be Top 10, so I just need to rest,” Schwarzman said. “That’s why I was fighting this match, because I need those points to be close to the Top 10 and to be close to Denis. “Maybe [it will happen] tomorrow, maybe the next tournaments, but that was in my mind the whole match. “I think that’s why I won, because I was fighting. “I was not playing all the match my best tennis, but I felt like I took the chances at the end and that’s why I won.”

Schwartzman moved one win away from an unlikely Rome Masters title, his first ATP Masters 1000 title of his career. The man standing in his way of the title is vying for a standalone record amount of Masters 1000 titles. As it stands, Djokovic and Rafael Nadal are both on 35 for their career, with the Argentinian knocking off Nadal in the quarter finals. Djokovic is firing on all cylinders this year with a 30-1 record and is eyeing off his fifth Rome title.

The Serbian took two hours and 11 minutes to defeat world number 34 Ruud 7-5 6-3, serving 12 aces and winning 70 and 62 per cent of his first and second serve points off a 67 per cent efficiency. He also saved seven of eight break points, and broke Ruud twice, both at important times during the match.

“It is super important [to win the title]. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be here,” Djokovic said post-match of holding the record. “I don’t take anything for granted, even after 15 years on the Tour, I still enjoy it. “I still have a hunger for the titles and putting myself in a position to fight for the title is exactly where I want to be.”

Djokovic said it was a tough day on court, with the weather playing havoc on-court and admitted Ruud had put up quite a fight throughout the two sets.

”It was a tough two-setter today. It was over two hours for two sets,” Djokovic said.. “I definitely had to work hard for most of the points and it was really anybody’s game in the first set… It was really windy. “To be honest, it was probably the windiest day since we arrived to Rome and it was quite tough to handle that. But the second set was much better, I got used to it and started swinging through the ball better.”

Djokovic is yet to lose to Schwartzman in his career, winning all four clashes against the world number 14, something expected to continue in their clash. Prior to knowing the result of the other semi-final, Djokovic said he was not going to take either opponent lightly.

“Both guys are in tremendous form,” he said. “Diego played the match of his life last night (defeating Nadal) and he also is most comfortable on clay. “Denis has improved a lot on clay over the past few years and he has got a powerful game… Whatever comes my way, I will be ready and hopefully I can get my hands on the trophy.”

Picture: Getty Images