Novak Djokovic said he was relishing locking horns with his "greatest rival" Rafael Nadal as the pair set up the 54th clash of their careers Saturday in the Italian Open final.
Djokovic battled past Argentina's Diego Schwartzman 6-3, 6-7 (2/7), 6-3 and meets defending champion Nadal on Sunday after the Spaniard earlier swept past Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3, 6-4 to reach his 50th Masters final.
"It's the ultimate challenge," said the Serbian world number one of playing second-ranked Nadal.
"I've had so many matches against him. Up to date, we had the longest rivalry of tennis of all time. Every time we get to play each other, it's a thrill." Djokovic -- winner at the Madrid Open last weekend -- has had to battle through his last two matches in Rome.
The 31-year-old won through in 2hr 31min against 24th-ranked Schwartzman, having saved two match points over three hours on Friday night against Juan Martin Del Potro.
But Nadal, a 17-time Grand Slam winner, has not dropped a set all week en route to an 11th Rome final.
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"He's one of the greatest champions this game has ever seen," said 15-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic.
"His mentality, his approach, his resilience, ability to fight back after long absence from the tour, injuries, surgeries, he's had it all.
"He keeps on showing to the world why he's one of the biggest legends of tennis history. I have greatest respect for him. He's my greatest rival of all time, for sure." The only time eight-time Rome winner Nadal has lost on the red clay of the Foro Italico has been to four-time winner Djokovic.
The pair who have meet four times in the Rome final and are 2-2 in previous meetings while Djokovic leads their career rivalry 28-25.
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"I've been through some tough moments after Indian Wells. Recovery of the knee again... was not easy to come back and to prepare myself the right way."
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