Rafael Nadal moved into the semi-finals of the Miami Open with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Jack Sock in their quarter-final on Wednesday. The Spanish fifth seed wrapped up the match in 83 minutes, courtesy of two breaks of serve in each set.
On his part, Nadal went on to save six of the seven break points on his serve to dominate the match. The 13th seeded Sock broke Nadal’s serve in the opening game of the second set and consolidated the break to go up 2-0. The American also got a chance to get a potential double break lead in the third game of the set, but the World No 7 snuffed out the opportunity. In the fourth game, the Spaniard broke back in the fourth game, before securing a second break in the sixth game. Nadal then went on to serve out the match to love in the ninth game of the set.
In the semi-final, the Mallorcan will face another familiar foe in Italy’s Fabio Fognini, who upset the second seed Kei Nishikori, who struggled with an injury to his knee, earlier in the day. Fognini won in straight sets 6-4, 6-2 in 67 minutes to become the first unseeded player – since 2007 – to reach the last-four in the tournament.
Nadal leads the Italian 7-3 in their head-to-head, and has won their last two matches. However, Fognini most memorably upset Nadal in the third round of the 2015 US Open, after the latter led him by two-sets-to-love.
Bryan Brothers win, Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares upset
In the men’s doubles quarter-finals, third seeds Bob and Mike Bryan played out a dramatic match against the Croatian team of Marin Cilic and Nikola Mektic to reach the semi-finals. The Bryans trailed by a set-and-a-break, before eventually winning, 6-7(4), 6-4, 11-9 in an hour and 47 minutes. If they win the tournament, the Bryans will reclaim the World No 1 ranking when it is updated on the following Monday after the event. They will play the American team of Nick Monroe and Jack Sock in the penultimate match.
Sixth seeds Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo upset the fourth seeded team of Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares 2-6, 6-3, 10-8. The Polish-Brazilian duo will take on the American-Canadian team of Brian Baker and Daniel Nestor in the semi-finals. Baker and Nestor defeated the German-Austrian team of Philipp Petzschner and Alexander Peya in the quarter-finals, 6-3, 5-7, 10-3.
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