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
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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😀
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