ROME: Rafael Nadal overcame a stiff first-set challenge from Richard Gasquet before rolling to a 7-5, 6-1 win Saturday in the Italian Open semifinals. The top-ranked Spaniard faced break points in three different games during the opening set but won all of them to improve his career record against Gasquet to 9-0. In Sunday's final, Nadal will face either second-ranked Novak Djokovic or No. 4 Andy Murray, who were meeting later on another cloudless day at the Foro Italico. Djokovic is aiming to extend his 37-match winning streak. In the women's final, Maria Sharapova will meet last year's French Open runner-up Sam Stosur. Sharapova outslugged top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki 7-5, 6-3 and Stosur beat fourth-seeded Li Na of China 7-6 (6), 6-0. Nadal is attempting to win this clay-court tournament for the sixth time in seven years. Djokovic has beaten Nadal in all three finals they've played this year, including at the Madrid Open last weekend, when Djokovic registered his first victory over Nadal on clay. “I don't want to be stupid. I prefer Murray. I've lost three times to Djokovic,” Nadal said. “If it's Djokovic I'll probably play with less pressure than before because I (am no longer) the favorite. “I'm happy with my clay-court season. How I'm playing in the last couple of matches is the way forward, more aggressively.” “Every day I'm playing better after that disastrous first day,” Nadal said, referring to his three-set win over Italian qualifier Paolo Lorenzi in his opener.
