On Friday, Rafael Nadal will play Italian Fabio Fognini in the semifinal at the 2017 Miami Open.
Date: March 31, 2017
Match time: 1 PM local time / 1 PM EDT – New York, Montreal / 6 PM BST – United Kingdom / 7 PM CET – Spain, France, Germany, Italy / Saturday 9 AM AEDT – Melbourne. To convert to your local time, use this website.
Rafa on playing Fognini:
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 aggressive like I did today and hope to have my chances.
Rafa leads his FedEx ATP Head2Head with the Italian 7-3, but the pair has split their past six matches. Their previous encounter in Miami was a one-sided affair, with Nadal recording a swift 6-2, 6-2 win in their 2014 fourth-round clash.
| YEAR | EVENT | SURFACE | RND | WINNER | RESULT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Barcelona Spain |
Outdoor Clay | QF | Rafael Nadal | |
| 2015 | Beijing China |
Outdoor Hard | SF | Rafael Nadal | |
| 2015 | US Open NY, U.S.A. |
Outdoor Hard | R32 | Fabio Fognini | |
| 2015 | Hamburg Germany |
Outdoor Clay | F | Rafael Nadal | |
| 2015 | Barcelona Spain |
Outdoor Clay | R16 | Fabio Fognini | |
| 2015 | Rio de Janeiro Brazil |
Outdoor Clay | SF | Fabio Fognini | |
| 2014 | ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Miami FL, U.S.A. |
Outdoor Hard | R16 | Rafael Nadal | |
| 2013 | Beijing China |
Outdoor Hard | QF | Rafael Nadal | |
| 2013 | Roland Garros France |
Outdoor Clay | R32 | Rafael Nadal | |
| 2013 | ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Rome Italy |
Outdoor Clay | R32 | Rafael Nadal |
GOOD LUCK & VAMOS RAFA!
Haha, great TB. 9-8 SP for Sascha.
Una sugerencia Rafa. Se que sudas mucho como todos los tenistas, pero no creo que debes quitarte toda la camisa, limpiar el sudor y estás enseñando todo y aparte te tomas tu tiempo. Yo veo que ningún tenista hace lo que tú haces. Para mí eso es un Disgrace para todos los que vemos los partidos. Tápate y hazlo con rapidez.
Rafa siempre cambia la camisa así cuando sudo mucho. Eso es normal. Para mí, yo no creo ques es una cosa horrible.
RAFA ROCKS
Nick just dissed Rafa when getting a time violation…lol he’s back to being disliked
Rafa fan, can you elaborate? I was gluing my eyes onto the screen but didn’t catch what he said.
Fergus gave Kyrgios a time violation then Kyrgios goes “give one to Rafa” then after the point was like “I was bouncing the ball not doing this” and then imitated Nadal’s ritual
Thanks Rafa fan. That’s a pity. It dampens my mood already. 🙁
I saw him complaining sth but didn’t catch the imitating part. Not sure I want to find and watch it later so can you tell me which ritual?
Sascha’s usually great lob isn’t working well today.
TB now.
2nd set approaching TB now at 6-5 Sascha
Sascha is a great TB player, so we might have a third set here.
Sascha’s net skills has improved A LOT since AO. And he seems to have calmed down now. Love service game at 4-3 Sascha 2nd set.
Watching this match I’m realising Kyrgios is too strong. I’d genuinely prefer at this point a fatigued Fed in the final vs Rafa lol
😋 I know, right. Call me “crazy” but I wanted Kyrgios in the final when the draw was out, and I still want him now.
For some reason I think Rafa will find a way to get by this hot shot and that could work wonder for him. I think he, not Fed or Rafa, is the hottest on the tour ATM.
And believe me when I say this, don’t underestimate Zverev no matter how “inferior” he seems compared to Nick now. They’ll make a great rivalry in the future, and I’m looking forward to that. 🙂
Kyrgios is seriously growing on me but ultimately I’d love a maiden Miami title for Rafa and I’m not sure if Rafa can beat him, his serve is too strong. And yeah I agree, I’m actually a huge fan of Sascha but I don’t see him winning this one
I am now watching the Kyrgios v Zervev match with great interest. Sascha turns 20 next month, but he seems much younger than Kyrgios. While the Zverev brothers have become favorites of mine, I agree with the other comments that Kyrgios has more natural talent. I could see him winning against Roger and sadly Rafa too. You still never know which Nick will show up so there is always hope.
Rafa. You are my champion for never giving in or up. You encourage me to preserve and to be the best I can be. Don’t let the Fog get you!!! Number 1 forever for me. Vamos!!
I really enjoyed reading the comments on the Fed/Tomas match. I ended up rooting for Tomas since everyone was against him. At the end of the first set, the ESPN commies were talking about which questions they should ask Roger after he wins. When Tomas tanked his MP, it reinforced the fine line between champions and everyone else! Roger has it, Tomas does not.
Sascha seems losing it. First racquet smash. Not good. He seemed quite calm at first but from his facial expression and body languageI felt he’s getting intimidated as the match went on, especially by so many brilliant shots from every court position from Nick.
But he will try to pull himself together, hopefully not before it’s too late. He can play much better than this.
Not sure I’m into the racquet smashing Sasha! Bad boy
Susie, he still smashes his racquet but the boy has heart. Give him some time :).
Watching this I’m feeling nick is playing better than zverev. Also from what I’m seeing zverev not good enough to beat Roger considering how well Roger is playing. But I reckon nick would stand a good chance. Oh nick’s broken. Good
Susie, I think Zverev still can beat the current Fed. He has the game, he’s improving, and he has the mentality of a champion. He might go out to some lesser players but will try his best at the sight of a Great on the other side of the net.
Ah no, another stunning tweener from Nick at 30-0 Sascha’s serve 2nd set!! 😸
Nick breaks, finally! It’s inevitable. He’s just simply outplaying and quite outclassing Sascha.
But Sascha will fight back!
We have a match now. 🙂
Okay. I’m calling it now. Sascha’s good but Nick is just too good. If Nick wins, he wins keeping his head as coold as he could. If Sascha wins, he wins more through determination than outplaying Nick.
The match is still pretty much even now at 3-4 Sascha 1st set. The calm before the storm? :p
Haha, Nick!
I mean his tweener at 30-30 2-2 1st set. 😸
Oh no – a little rain?
Oh Vy the french crowd are ruthless even to their own players. I will never forget how they jeered tsonga when rafa was beating him in the FO semis a few years ago. A lesser man would have given up the sport. Awful it was – felt so sorry for him.
And a big congrats to Jo for becoming a dad!
Annabelle Croft , i hope your right , i did think that sometimes Roger was looking tired, and you have a feeling that all these matches might just be catching up on him , even if he doesn’t lose to either Kyrgios/ Zverev ,i hope they give him a good workout so he goes into the final knackered. Don’t get me wrong ,Ihave no problem with Roger ,i think he’s a nice guy (i only have one man on my sick bucket list ,and it’s no secret who that is) but he’s the one blip on the horizon standing in the way of Rafa and the one trophy he so dearly wants. Annabelle Croft how do you manage to look so great ?
Or did nick play Acapulco? Wherever he played whether it was there or dubai – that’s where I thought nick had changed.
Acapulco, Susie. He beat Novak there the first time they meet but went out to the eventual champion Sam Querrey. Sam was playing very well there. He said for how the ball bounced there, the strike zone was just perfect for him. Everything fell into place and he beat every tough opponent on the way to the title, including Rafa.