Rafael Nadal will be hoping to make it to his fifth Miami Open final when he takes on the Italian Fabio Fognini, who is the only unseeded player left in the tournament. The Miami Open is one tournament Nadal has not yet been able to conquer, having finished as a runner-up in 2005, 2008, 2011 and 2013.
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Fognini is set to compete in just his second Masters semifinal of his career, and the Italian will be hoping he can cause another upset and probably challenge for his first title of 2017. Nadal too is looking for his first title this year.
He reached the final of the Mexican Open, but lost to Sam Querry and also the Australian Open at the start of the year, where he went down to Roger Federer. Nadal has been impressive this season, but he just needs to add a title to his name and should he defeat Fognini, he could be set to face Federer for the third time in 2017.
Nadal holds the upper hand against Fognini leading up to their semi-final match as the Spaniard defeated him in their last two meetings. He also defeated Fognini in the fourth round in Miami in 2014. Nadal has dropped only one set so far, against Philipp Kohlschreiber, but he managed to recover well and had a comfortable second and third set.
He eased past jack Sock in the quarter-finals with an easy 6-2, 6-3 win, but said the match against Fognini will be a tough one and he will have to be at his best.
"I know him very well and he knows me very well. We played a few times and he's beaten me a couple of times, too. It's a tough match. He's playing well, so it will be a good challenge. I need to play my best, keep playing aggressively like I did today and hope to have my chances," Metro quoted Nadal as saying.
Fognini surprised everyone after he managed to defeat last year's finalist Kei Nishikori in the quarter-finals and is looking to become the first Italian to reach an ATP Masters 1000 final since 1990. Fognini also became the first unseeded semi-finalist in the Miami Open since 2007. The Italian has shown that he has what it takes to beat Nadal, but the former world number one has been in amazing form and is looking more like the player he was before his injury.
The 29-year-old is clearly the underdog heading into this semi-final clash against Nadal but he is focused and ready to do his best.
"At the moment, I'm just happy. Of course this is a big, big tournament for me. I'm feeling really good on court and other times, so this is the best thing that I can have this week. I'm happy about my performance. Of course, the result is positive. It's like a dream maybe. I'm just trying to be focused on my game and do my best," Fognini said.
When to watch
The Miami Open Semi-final clash between Rafael Nadal and Fabio Fognini is set to start at 1:00pm local time, 10:30pm IST, 5:00pm GMT.
TV and Live streaming information
India: TV: Sony ESPN and Sony ESPN HD.
UK: TV:Sky Sports 5/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.
