Rafael Nadal progressed to the semi-finals of the 2017 Shanghai Rolex Masters on Friday after beating Grigor Dimitrov in their quarter-final matchup, 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-3.
The tournament’s top seed Nadal came into Friday’s quarter-final contest without dropping a set in his two previous outings, but his spotless record was ended as he advanced to tee up a semi-final clash with Marin Cilic.
The Croat did maintain his own perfect set record on Friday after beating Albert Ramos-Vinolas, 6-3, 6-4, and he’ll be looking to add another Spanish conquest to his record when he faces Nadal in Shanghai on Saturday.
Second seed Roger Federer and Juan Martin del Potro will be the favourites for their respective quarter-finals later on Friday as they prepare to face Richard Gasquet and Viktor Troicki in the last eight, respectively.
Read on for a roundup of all the action from the 2017 Shanghai Masters, complete with scores and a look toward what’s in store.
Friday’s Quarter-Final Results
(4) Marin Cilic bt. Albert Ramos-Vinolas: 6-3, 6-4
(1) Rafael Nadal bt. Grigor Dimitrov: 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-3
(16) Juan Martin del Potro vs. Viktor Troicki: TBD
(2) Roger Federer vs. Richard Gasquet: TBD
In the game immediately after that close call, Nadal dampened Dimitrov’s spirits further with a break of his own to lead 5-2 and serve out the set, although the latter played fiercely in his attempt to upset the favourite.
Earlier on Friday, an imperious performance from Cilic saw him become the competition’s first player to claim a semi-final spot and improve his 2017 record to 39 wins and 16 defeats with a third successive straight-sets win.
The tournament’s fourth seed did see his perfect serving record broken by Ramos-Vinolas, who broke Cilic for the first time in this year’s Shanghai Masters during the second set, although it only delayed his advance into the final four.
Cilic balanced out that stutter by breaking Ramos-Vinolas either side of that lost game to book a 6-3, 6-4 triumph, and thus topped his previous best finish in Shanghai when he made it to the quarters in 2012.
Nadal and Cilic have met five times in the past, and the Spaniard has won in four of those clashes, per the official ATP World Tour website, the only win for Cilic coming in their first encounter all the way back in 2009.
The one positive for Cilic, however, is that sole victory happened to be a 6-1, 6-3 trouncing in Beijing, their only previous meeting in Chinese territory, holding some hope for the Croat in Shanghai come Saturday’s semi.
