Rafael Nadal wins a fantastic quarter-final in Indian Wells against Karen Khachanov to set up a semifinal against Roger Federer.
The match
Rafa had to dig deep from the very beginning after he was broken in the very first game (0-1). However, the Spanish legend bounced back in style after breaking back in the 6th game (3-3) before winning the opener at the breaker.
In the second set, Rafa was the first one to draw blood after he broke Khachanov in the 5th game. Nevertheless, Karen refused to go, and he broke back in the following game. Eventually, also the 2nd set was decided at the breaker that once again the Spaniard won without many problems. The final score was 7-6 (2) 7-6 (2) in 2 hours and 16 minutes.
Nadal’s injury
Unfortunately, Rafa was injured to his knee during the match. Nadal had a medical time-out during the changeover following the 3rd game of the second set, and he made it clear that he may not be able to play Federer on Saturday.
Head to head Roger Federer vs. Rafael Nadal
This will be the 39th time that Roger and Rafa will face each other. The head to head is 23-15 for Nadal, but Federer has won their last 5 encounters. If the semifinal will take place, Federer seems to be the favorite to win in straight sets.
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IN THE SEMIFINAL
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| Embed from Getty Images |
