On Saturday, top seed and 2005 champion Rafael Nadal will face world No. 8 Grigor Dimitrov for a spot in the China Open final.
Date: 7 October 2017
Match time: Rafa is third match on National Tennis Stadium. Not before 4.30 PM local time / 4.30 AM EDT – New York, Montreal / 9.30 AM BST – United Kingdom / 10.30 AM CEST – Spain, France, Germany, Italy / 7.30 PM AEDT – Melbourne. To convert to your local time, use this website.
Rafa on playing Dimitrov:
“He is a player that I really like, a good friend on the tour. He’s a great guy. I think Grigor is a player always with a great attitude, with a positive character. I’m happy for him that he’s having a good year. Tomorrow will be a tough one, for sure.
Rafa and Grigor have met on nine previous occasions – of which our champ has won eight- but the Bulgarian’s only victory over the world number one came in the Beijing quarter-finals last year.
The pair played one of the matches of the season in the semi-finals of the Australian Open, which our champ eventually won in five sets.
| YEAR | EVENT | SURFACE | RND | WINNER | RESULT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Australian Open Australia |
Outdoor Hard | SF | Rafael Nadal |
63 57 765 674 64
|
| 2016 | Beijing China |
Outdoor Hard | QF | Grigor Dimitrov |
62 64
|
| 2015 | Basel Switzerland |
Indoor Hard | R16 | Rafael Nadal |
64 46 63
|
| 2015 | ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Madrid Spain |
Outdoor Clay | QF | Rafael Nadal |
63 64
|
| 2014 | ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Rome Italy |
Outdoor Clay | SF | Rafael Nadal |
62 62
|
| 2014 | Australian Open Australia |
Outdoor Hard | QF | Rafael Nadal |
36 763 767 62
|
| 2013 | ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Cincinnati OH, U.S.A. |
Outdoor Hard | R16 | Rafael Nadal |
62 57 62
|
| 2013 | ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Monte Carlo Monaco |
Outdoor Clay | QF | Rafael Nadal |
62 26 64
|
| 2009 | Rotterdam Netherlands |
Indoor Hard | R16 | Rafael Nadal |
75 36 62
|
GOOD LUCK & VAMOS RAFA!
No stopping you now Rafa, you’re showing everyone why you have the bomber one spot . You really are a cut above the rest. Keep flexing those muscles as you will need them tomorrow when you hold that trophy high above your head 😀
Number not bomber
Rafa has allowed Dimitrov back into the match with too many errors in the 2nd set. C’mon Rafa ride the storm and keep your nerve! Time to shut the door on this final set!
Come on Rafa ,you have this.
Rafa’s got the first set in the bag! So sharp, so solid, so confident!
Great to see rafa playing so well. He most definitely has his confidence back!!
First set, and Rafa looking solid on serve. Just broke Dimitrov. Stay SWITCHED ON Rafa!
Good luck and Vamos Rafa <3
Yes, I said Buena Suerta to him and pleased that he has gone this far for us. 😀 He invited Grigor to his Aca in Majorca in July as they are friends, maybe it was not a good thing as when he invited Andy Murray there in 2015, afterwards in Madrid Andy beat him. I told him this, as Andy would have got used to the Spanish tierra batida, una tonteria ! Fiona in Paris
You can look in the dictionary ato see what that word means.
Wishing you an easy win Rafa. I trust you to demolish Dimitrov.
RAFA KEEPS ROCKIN