Shanghai: Rafael Nadal overcame an obdurate Grigor Dimitrov to set up a semifinal date with Marin Cilic at Shanghai Masters tennis tournament, here Friday. Spaniard Nadal defeated Dimitrov 6-4, 6-7(4-7), 6-3 in a match that lasted close to two hours. In another quarterfinal, Cilic beat Nadal’s countryman Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-4, 6-3.
Sixth seed Dimitrov frequently had the final say during pulsating rallies, most impressively during the final set, but in the end, Nadal’s superior retrieving ability helped him win. This was his second win over Dimitrov in 10 days, the first one coming at the Beijing Open.
“Winning a lot of matches in a row, so I’m very happy for everything,” Nadal said after the end of the match. “Of course, being able to win the US Open, Beijing, and being in the semifinals here… I have to try to keep focus and hold that momentum. We’ll see tomorrow (Saturday) if I can have another good day.”
The 870th career win for Nadal ties him at No.6 in the all-time Open era list behind Andre Agassi, Jimmy Connors (1,256 each), Roger Federer (1,121), Ivan Lendl (1,068), Guillermo Vilas (929) and John McEnroe (877).
Cilic was ruthless in his demolition of Ramos-Vinolas hitting 14 aces and 23 winners on the way. “My team have worked really well in all parts of my game just to bring it up to the nice level that I can keep it up throughout every single week,” said Cilic.
Also advancing to the last four stage was Juan Martin del Potro, who again came from a set down to beat Viktor Troicki 4-6, 6-1, 6-3. He will face Roger Federer who beat Richard Gasquet 7-5, 6-4.
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