Still hunting for his maiden Miami Open crown, Rafael Nadal is now just two matches away from reaching his fifth final of the tournament which has looked jinxed for him so far. Nadal, who defeated Nicolas Mahut in straight sets in the previous round, will meet the USA's Jack Sock in the quarterfinals. Nadal was outstanding in his serve against Mahut as he won 92 per cent of his first-serve points. He will look to produce the same performance against Sock.
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The Miami Open could see Nadal take on Roger Federer in the final, a repeat of the 2017 Australian Open final, but should he defeat Sock in his next game, the Spaniard will have to defeat Kei Nishikori to make it to the finals. At this point, given how much Nadal has improved after struggling in 2016, he could be in line to win his first tournament of 2017.
The Spaniard was recently asked about drawing comparison to Federer's superb form in 2017 to his own impressive early-season form. He also spoke about his opponent in the quarter finals of the Miami Open saying that he is a very aggressive player saying he too will have to be aggressive if he is to progress to the next round.
"I think it is a good start of the year for both of us. Obviously a little bit better for him. But at the same time, I am happy the way that I am playing, happy the way that I started the year after a tough second part of the year last year with injuries," ATP's official website quoted Nadal as saying.
"He's a very aggressive player, very powerful player, big serve, big forehand, and a good backhand, too. He plays quick with his backhand. So I need to play aggressive. That's the only way. If I let him play in a comfortable position it's going to be impossible for me. So I need to be focus with my serve, but at the same time I need to be aggressive."
Sock has been in impressive form of late. He reached the semi-finals of the Indian Wells where he was defeated by the eventual champion Federer. He started 2017 with an amazing form, winning two ATP World Tour titles — in Auckland and Delray Beach — already. He might have a difficult time against Nadal though as he lost in both his previous encounters against the Spaniard.
Sock became the first American man since Andre Agassi in 1999 to reach the quarterfinals of four consecutive Masters 1000 events — Shanghai and Paris in 2016 and Indian Wells and Miami 2017.
Sock said that he has never felt stronger physically and mentally and said he will give himself a better chance to win this match his time around than he would have a few years ago and is excited for the battle.
"I'll definitely give myself a lot more chance to win this time around than maybe I did a few years ago. I'm 24 years old now and been on tour for a while. I'm playing these matches believing I can win for sure. Experience definitely is an advantage for the top guys in some situations, but tennis-wise, I think I'm definitely ready to beat them. I'm excited for the battle," Sock said.
Where to watch
The Miami Open quarter final clash between Rafael Nadal and Jack Sock is set to start at 9:00pm local time, 6:30am IST, 1:00am GMT.
TV and live streaming information
India: TV: Sony ESPN HD.
UK: TV: Sky Sports 1/HD: Live Streaming: Sky Go.
US: TV: Tennis Channel: Live Streaming: Tennis Channel Live.
International live streaming: Miami Open Live.
Live score: Miami Open live score.
