World No 3 Rafael Nadal survived a three-set thriller against unseeded Ernests Gulbis to reach the final of the ATP Rome Masters 1000 tournament.

Until this match, Nadal had not dropped a set on clay this season and Gulbis, who put out World No 1 Roger Federer in the second round,

deserved much credit for pushing him to the brink in an epic battle.
After pushing Nadal back using big forehands, the Latvian showed impeccable touch by pulling out the drop shot to keep Nadal off balance.
Ernests Gulbis showed the physical ability that we have only glimpsed before now, for several hours against the best ever on clay.

Just as impressive was his competitive spirit and mental toughness when down 0-40 against Nadal and fought his way back to win the game.
With an opponent is hitting 50 winners against him and crushing 135mph first serves for 13 aces, any lesser opponent would have been defeated.

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