On Saturday, Rafael Nadal will play his semi-final match at the Shanghai Masters against fourth seed Marin Cilic.
Our champ is chasing a seventh title in a brilliant season and a hat-trick of triumphs on the hard courts, having been crowned US Open and China Open champion in recent weeks.
Match time: 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 Cilic:
He always is very dangerous opponent, and I think this surface, this court helps him. It’s a very fast court. He’s able to go for the shots from the baseline. It will be a tough one. I know that I need to be very focused with my serve again, and I need to play aggressive and don’t let him play from comfortable positions. If not, I will be almost dead because he is going to go for the shots.
Rafa holds an 4-1 lead in his head-to-head series with Cilic, including victories in their past four meetings. Cilic beat our champ 6-1, 6-3 in Beijing way back in 2009.
| YEAR | EVENT | SURFACE | RND | WINNER | RESULT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Acapulco Mexico |
Outdoor Hard | SF | Rafael Nadal |
61 62
|
| 2015 | Basel Switzerland |
Indoor Hard | QF | Rafael Nadal |
46 63 63
|
| 2011 | ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Rome Italy |
Outdoor Clay | QF | Rafael Nadal |
61 63
|
| 2011 | Australian Open Australia |
Outdoor Hard | R16 | Rafael Nadal |
62 64 63
|
| 2009 | Beijing China |
Outdoor Hard | SF | Marin Cilic |
61 63
|
GOOD LUCK & VAMOS RAFA!
Rafa, don’t play another 2017 tournament. Rest, get healthy and prepare for the Australian Open
Thank god it ended in straight sets.Cilic was brilliant in many ways and was ready to go full flow so it’s important for Rafa to end it in 2 sets because even then it was exhausting. Come on Rafa gets the shanghai title. The trophy is one of those unluckier ones which hasn’t touched your teeth yet😀