Rafael Nadal maintained momentum from a recent runner-up performance in Beijing by crushing Stan Wawrinka 6-2, 6-1 in the quarterfinals of the Shanghai Rolex Masters on Friday. Nadal needed just one hour and three minutes to set up a showdown against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
“Being in the semifinals is a great result for me,” the Spaniard assured. “I hadn’t played the semifinals on hard court all year and now I am playing two weeks in a row in the final rounds. That’s a big improvement for me. In terms of confidence, in terms of level of tennis, I am playing better. Very happy for that because I am working so hard.”
Highlights:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQTBkFZ_C0Q]
Tsonga recovered from a 5-1 deficit in the first-set tiebreaker, won it, and eventually got the best of Kevin Anderson 7-6(6), 5-7, 6-4.
Nadal and Tsonga will be squaring off for the 12th time in their careers on Saturday.The former world No. 1 is leading the head-to-head series 8-3, including an impressive 6-2 on hard courts. Tsonga, however, has at least won two of their last five encounters dating back to the start of the 2011 season.
The other semifinal will pit No. 1 against No. 2: Novak Djokovic vs. Andy Murray. They are coming off respective quarterfinal wins over Bernard Tomic and Tomas Berdych.
Tomic hot shot:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gYuMvD8aW0]
This will be the 29th meeting between the two rivals. Djokovic owns a 19-9 edged in the head-to-head series thanks to current streak of winning eight of their last nine meetings and four of five in 2015. The Serb prevailed in the Australian Open final, the Indian Wells semifinals, the Miami title match, and the French Open semis. Murray, however, finally turned the tide and took their most recent showdown 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 to triumph at the Canada Masters.
“I’m aware it’s going to be an extremely difficult match,” the Scot said. “He’s played very, very well for the whole year. It was important that I got a quick match [against Berdych] because it’s late. I’ll get well recovered, get a nice, long sleep and play a good match tomorrow. But it’s going to be a tough match, for sure.”
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