What a great semifinal! Rafa maybe ranked world no.4 (he will be no.3 after this tournament), but he is playing alike a world no.1.
The Match
Both players were at the top of their form to frequently produce spotless tennis. The match started with a false start from Djokovic that was broken in the opening game to then being broken again in the 7th and find himself 2-5 down. Then the world no.1 managed to break back Rafa, but that was a bit too late and the King of Clay won the opener 6-4.
The second set was a much closer encounter with Nole breaking Rafa in the 9th game when he was 0-40 down. Then the Serb held serve to win the second set 6-4.
There were no breaks in the third set with many rallies full of brilliance. Rafa didn’t concede a single break point and Nole managed to save two. At the breaker Rafa got a strong 6-2 lead to win 7-2. The match ended after 2 hours and 28 minutes. Match Stats
Rafa: I played with the right decisions in the important moments
“I said yesterday the only chance to win against Novak, the only tactic is to play very well. To play very well, I have to play aggressive. If not, I cannot play very well on this kind of surface.
And I did. I played a very high level tonight, I think. I played with the right decisions in the important moments. Yes, the serve worked well during the whole night. And the shots from the baseline, I tried to stay very close to the baseline, go inside when I had the chance.” Said Rafa
Nole: Whenever we play against each other, it’s always a thrilling match
“It was very close match. So, I mean, there were very few points that decided the winner. Can’t really pick one moment. I had my chances. He had his chances. You know, I guess at the end he played better… Whenever we play against each other, it’s always a thrilling match for the crowd to see. We are both competing at the high level. We both want to win these matches.” Commented the world no.1
After these match Rafa leads Nole 21-15 in the head to head matches.
The final vs. Raonic
Rafa will play a very good Milos Raonic in the final. The Canadian beat another fellow Canadian (Pospisil) in another tough 3 setter 6-4 1-6 7-6 (4). Head to head is 3-0 for Rafa.
Rafa’s hot shot… at Nole’s face!
