Rafael Nadal plays Stan Wawrinka for a spot in Shanghai semis
Rafael Nadal beat Milos Raonic 6-3 7-6(3) in the third round of the 2015 Shanghai Rolex Masters to setup a clash against Stan Wawrinka in the last eight. Nadal will be looking to improve his series over the Swiss when they clash Friday.
The Manacor native extended his winning streak in Shanghai after scoring straight set wins over Raonic, further improving his record against the Canadian 6-1. Nadal, who was hoping to reach his second hardcourt final since Beijing last week, is obviously happy with the way he is playing in recent tournaments. He credited his victory to being focused and controlled during the match.
“Today, I felt that I was not playing with as much nerves when I am on court,” Nadal said in a report by ATPWorldTour.com. “I was able to enjoy the match.”
Nadal already played five sets in Beijing. He played three sets against Ivo Karlovic, with two sets going on a tiebreak. Since the second-round opening game against the big-serving Croat, Nadal has been able to hold serve. The Spanish tennis star is certainly pleased with the way his game is going. He said it would have been “impossible” for him to win two tiebreaks without losing a point.
The 29-year-old former World No. 1 is going to battle reigning French Open champion Stan Wawrinka for a place in the final four. Fourth seed Wawrinka booked his place in the quarterfinals after defeating 14th seed Marin Cilic on Thursday 7-5 6-7(7) 6-4.
Nadal owns a 12-2 head-to-head series advantage over Wawrinka. However, the Swiss had won in the last two meetings, which took place at the 2014 Australian Open final 6-3 6-2 3-6 6-3 as well as this season during the quarterfinals of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event in Rome 7-6(7) 6-2. The winner of the match will play either Jo-Wilfried Tsonga or Kevin Anderson in the final four.
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