World No.1 Rafael Nadal has achieved another milestone in his illustrious career after defeating Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-3, in the quarter-finals of the Shanghai Masters.
The 10-time French Open champion headed into the match with a 9-1 head-to-head lead over his Bulgarian opponent. It was the second consecutive week the two have clashed on the tour following Nadal’s three-set triumph in Beijing.
This time round their encounter was a closely contested battle with both players illustrating some of the best talent. From the onset Dimitrov was urging himself on with bursts of ‘come on’ as Nadal displayed some world-class defensive play on the court in what was a match of fine margins.
“It was a very tough match. I think both of us, we played at a very high level of tennis.” Said Nadal.
“It was I think a great battle between two players who were playing very focused, very intense points all the time.” He added.
Eighth games went by without a sole break point opportunity before Nadal prevailed. Two consecutive winning passing shots elevated the world No.1 to 40-0 against his opponent’s serve. Despite the triple chance to break, Nadal allowed Dimitrov to draw level to deuce after spraying back-to-back unforced errors. It was on his fourth opportunity that Nadal converted for the 5-4 lead after smashing a clean forehand winner. Closing the set out was a straightforward encounter for the top seed as former Wimbledon semifinalist Dimitrov hit an unforced error to secure the 6-3 lead.
It was a case of deja vu in the second set with Nadal once again being tamed by Dimitrov’s speed and aggression. He had a chance to break for a 3-2 lead, but failed to convert due to three straight winners from his rival. The failure proved costly as Dimitrov eventually got rewarded for his resilience. Despite Nadal holding a 3-0 lead in the tiebreaker, the Bulgarian rallied back to force a decider, benefiting from some lacklustre forehands from his rival.
For the second week in a row Nadal had been taken to three sets by Dimitrov, but history repeated itself with the Spaniard finding a way to come through. Breaking for a 4-2 lead in the decider after two consecutive forehand errors from Dimitrov. That breakthrough was enough to guide the top seed to the match and his 870th win on the ATP Tour.
“Being able to win the US Open, Beijing, and now be in the semifinals here in Shanghai, all those tournaments were tough events against tough players, that’s great news.” Reflected Nadal, who is on a 15-match winning streak. “I’m very happy for everything. My focus is to try to keep holding that momentum, and let’s see if tomorrow I can have another good day.”
ATP MD match wins
1. Connors, 1256
2. Federer, 1121
3. Lendl, 1068
4. Vilas, 929
5. McEnroe, 877
6. Agassi & Nadal, 870
…
8. Djokovic, 783— José Morgado (@josemorgado) 13 October 2017
Nadal will play Marin Cilic in the semifinals, who defeated Albert Ramos 6-3, 6-4. The former US Open champion dropped serve only once in the match, which is the first time he has done so in the entire tournament this week. He sealed the win with the help of 28 winners to 18 unforced errors. As a result of the victory, the Croat will rise to a ranking high of fourth on Monday.
“He always is a very dangerous opponent, and I think this surface, this court helps him.” Nadal said of Cilic. “He’s able to go for the shots from the baseline. At the same time, the serve helps a lot to play more aggressive from the baseline to him.”
In their head-to-head, Nadal leads Cilic 4-1 and has won their four most recent meetings.
