After a disappointing first two months, especially the South American clay swing, nobody expected much from Nadal, with his biggest win being No. 52, Paolo Lorenzi. Nadal didn’t have an ideal start to this match either, as he had to face 2 break points and go through a difficult game with 3 deuces right off the bat. Nadal struggled on his second game at 1-1 as well. He got down 15-40 on his serve. He retrieved the two break points, only to lose the game after a deuce. Nishikori followed with an effortless service game, not losing a point. Things were looking bad for the Spaniard, as he was once again 15-40 down on his serve, offering his opponent two break points. However Nadal didn’t give up, and managed to hold his serve, starting the amazing comeback in the first set, from 1-3, 15-40 to 6-4. Nadal broke back to make it 3-3. After 3 holds of serve, Nishikori was serving to stay in the set. He did not deal with the pressure very well, got 30-40 on his serve and lost the set. Nadal was very good at getting his first serve in, the stat was 88% in the first set. He also saved 6 out of 7 (86%) break points on his serve.
Nadal kept his form through out the second set. Starting strong, as he won the first 3 games of the second set. He had a break point at 3-0, but didn’t succeed in taking the lead to 4-0. Nadal had another opportunity two games later, but failed to take it. Nishikori broke back to 4-3, only for Nadal to break Nishikori’s serve one game later and serve for the match. Nadal took the first match point at 40-30, and got by far his biggest win this year. Before the match, it was No. 45 Gilles Muller, whom Nadal beat in the second round. Nadal kept on putting 90% of his first serves in, as Nishikori’s stat receded to only 41%. Rafael Nadal’s opponent in the semifinals will either be the World No. 1 Novak Djokovic or Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France.
