Spaniard Rafael Nadal may not have enjoyed a good season this time around, but the seventh seed has shown some glimpse of his past in the ongoing Montreal Masters in Canada.
Rafael Nadal has reached the quarter-finals of the competition and will face Kei Nishikori in a huge round of eight clash. Nishikori has been equally brilliant in the competition. Neither of the quarter-finalists have dropped any set in the competition, which makes matters even more interesting as they will be confident ahead of their quarter-final clash.
Rafael Nadal might have been tested in the second round by Sergiy Stakhovsky as the first set was a close one with the Spaniard clinching it 7-6 and eventually winning the match with a cruising performance in the second set.
But, the fourth seed Nishikori did not have any such problems as he ran past his pre-quarter-final opponent, Mikhail Youzhny, in straight sets with the scoreboard reading 6-3, 6-3. The Spaniard needs to be on top of his game against Nishikori, who has been in great form this season, to progress into the semi-finals of the competition.
The winner of the clash will meet the winner of the other quarter-final between Andy Murray and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
Though Nadal might not have been very impressive while serving in the Hamburg Open of late, which he won, the Spaniard has served well in the Montreal Masters to pose as a big threat to the Japanese star.
Nadal does not have any fitness concerns as well.
"It's not a problem anymore," ATP official website quoted Nadal as saying. "I don't have pain anymore in the shoulder. But during the Hamburg tournament I couldn't serve very well. I was just trying to put serves in, very slow speed. But happy the way I served today. I think I was serving very well tonight (in the pre quarters)."
However, Nadal is aware of Nishikori's performance of late, where he has been doing really well in the ATP circuit. In the Montreal Masters as well, Nishikori has not been troubled in any of his matches so far as he defeated David Goffin and Steve Johnson earlier in the competition.
Irrespective of whether Goffin and Johnson put pressure on Nishikori or not, Rafael Nadal will give it his all against the fourth seed and with some of the shots Nadal has played in the Montreal Masters, expect the Spaniard to come with all guns blazing.
The quarter-final between Nadal and Nishikori has entertainment written all over it, as both the star players are set to enthral the audience in the stadium.
Where to Watch Live
Rafael Nadal's matches have always attracted a number of fans worldwide and expect the numbers to increase with the Spaniard facing Japanese Kei Nishikori in the quarter-final of the Montreal Masters.
Rafael Nadal vs Kei Nishikori quarter-final has been scheduled for 6:30pm local time (4am IST, 11:30pm BST) with live TV coverage in India on Star Sports 4.
Viewers in the UK can watch the Rafael Nadal vs Kei Nishikori quarter final live on Sky Sports 3/HD.
Viewers in the US have the luxury of watching the Rafael Nadal vs Kei Nishikori quarter final live on ESPN 3 with live streaming on Watch ESPN.
Live Streaming of the Rafael Nadal vs Kei Nishikori quarter final will be available on Tennis Tv.
