Rafael Nadal withstood 22 aces from John Isner to prevail 6-4, 7-6(0), in the quarter-finals of the China Open in Beijing.
Heading into the clash, Nadal boasted a dominant 6-0 head-to-head record against his American rival. Still, the top seed expected a tough encounter against Isner. On Thursday he told reporters in Beijing that he will need to be ‘at his best’ in order to dismantle the fast-serving world No.17.
In the opening set, Nadal saw 11 aces get past him with little disparity shown between both players during the first eight games of the match. Isner was the first to get to a break point opportunity in the fourth game, but failed to convert due to an unforced error. Nadal’s breakthrough occurred at 4-4 when he piled the pressure onto Isner’s service game, hitting a clean backhand winner to race 40-0. The break for 5-4 was then secured with another backhand winner down the line from the Spaniard. Increasing his intensity, the No.1 closed out the opening set with ease after hitting a smash at the net.
Firmly in control of proceedings, there was still work to be done for the ten-time French Open champion. The second set saw Nadal save two break points in his opening service game, which he eventually held with the help of a second service ace. Unable to find a way to break down the Isner serve, which featured a winning 79% first service rate, it was a tiebreaker that decided the outcome of the match.
Breaking with the trend of the closely contested match, Nadal dominated the tiebreaker from the onset with the use of his aggression and intensity in his shot-making. Isner’s valiant efforts were no more as the world No.1 had an answer to every question asked of him. Racing to 6-0 with the help of a forehand winner down the line. Nadal then secured his placed in the semifinals with the help of another error from the American, his 38th of the match.
“I think I played a solid match. I played very well, changing good directions. I’m play very focus all the time,” Nadal said.
Hitting a total of 26 winners compared to just seven unforced errors, Nadal will next take on Grigor Dimitrov. The Bulgarian third seed overcame Roberto Bautista Agut 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-2, in a tightly contested encounter. Dimitrov, who is aiming to reach his fourth ATP final of the season in Beijing, hit a total of 12 aces and won 75% of his first service points.
“I know exactly what I need to do,” Dimitrov said of Nadal. “I want to win. I need those matches, I’ve worked a lot, but I expect the same from him.
“I just need to focus on my side of the net right now, I really don’t want to think how he feels, or how he might be feeling tomorrow. That’s entirely up to him…On my end tomorrow, I’m just going to look after my side of the net.”
Nadal leads Dimitrov 8-1 in their head-to-head. This week he is seeking his second China Open title and first since 2005.
