World number one Rafael Nadal has reached the final of the Shanghai Masters by beating Marin Cilic in straight sets. He booked his place in this year’s main event with a 7-5, 7-6(3) victory over the Croatian number one.
Cilic created three set points after early pressure from Rafa, who won the opener in 67 minutes. Rafa was broken twice in the second but won a fine match in two hours and 11 minutes.
After the match, Rafa said:
Very happy. Of course I played I think a very high level of tennis. It was a great match again. I don’t know what he said, if he already talked or what he’s going to say later, I don’t know, but in my opinion, he played well, too. Was a great, good quality of tennis this afternoon.
Rafa is on course to win his 76th singles title and will now face either Roger Federer or Juan Martin del Potro in the final on Sunday. Our champ claimed his sixth title of the year with victory in Beijing last week.
Rafa will try to win a 31st career ATP Masters 1000 title, which would break the record that he shares with Novak Djokovic.
SHANGHAI, CHINA – OCTOBER 14: Rafael Nadal of Spain warms up prior to the Men’s singlesÊsemi-final match against Marin Cilic of Croatia on day 7 of 2017 ATP Shanghai Rolex Masters at Qizhong Stadium on October 14, 2017 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by Yifan Ding/Getty Images)
Rafael Nadal of Spain enters the tennis court during the Men’s singles Semifinal mach against Marin Cilic of Coratia on day seven of 2017 ATP Shanghai Rolex Masters at Qizhong Stadium on October 14, 2017 in Shanghai, China. (Oct. 13, 2017 – Source: Lintao Zhang/Getty Images AsiaPac)
Rafael Nadal of Spain returns a shot during the Men’s Single Semi-Final match between Rafael Nadal of Spain and Marin Cilic of Croatia on Day 7 of 2017 ATP 1000 Shanghai Rolex Masters on October 14, 2017 at Qizhong Stadium in Shanghai, China. (Oct. 13, 2017 – Source: Kevin Lee/Getty Images AsiaPac)
Rafael Nadal of Spain serves during the Men’s Single Semi-Final match between Rafael Nadal of Spain and Marin Cilic of Croatia on Day 7 of 2017 ATP 1000 Shanghai Rolex Masters on October 14, 2017 at Qizhong Stadium in Shanghai, China. (Oct. 13, 2017 – Source: Kevin Lee/Getty Images AsiaPac)
Rafael Nadal of Spain returns a shot during the Men’s Single Semi-Final match between Rafael Nadal of Spain and Marin Cilic of Croatia on Day 7 of 2017 ATP 1000 Shanghai Rolex Masters on October 14, 2017 at Qizhong Stadium in Shanghai, China. (Oct. 13, 2017 – Source: Kevin Lee/Getty Images AsiaPac)
Rafael Nadal of Spain returns a shot during the Men’s Single Semi-Final match between Rafael Nadal of Spain and Marin Cilic of Croatia on Day 7 of 2017 ATP 1000 Shanghai Rolex Masters on October 14, 2017 at Qizhong Stadium in Shanghai, China. (Oct. 13, 2017 – Source: Kevin Lee/Getty Images AsiaPac)
Rafael Nadal of Spain reacts during the Men’s Single Semi-Final match between Rafael Nadal of Spain and Marin Cilic of Croatia on Day 7 of 2017 ATP 1000 Shanghai Rolex Masters on October 14, 2017 at Qizhong Stadium in Shanghai, China. (Oct. 13, 2017 – Source: Kevin Lee/Getty Images AsiaPac)
Rafael Nadal of Spain returns a shot during the Men’s singles Semifinal mach against Marin Cilic of Coratia on day seven of 2017 ATP Shanghai Rolex Masters at Qizhong Stadium on October 14, 2017 in Shanghai, China. (Oct. 13, 2017 – Source: Lintao Zhang/Getty Images AsiaPac)
Rafael Nadal of Spain returns a shot during the Men’s Single Semi-Final match between Rafael Nadal of Spain and Marin Cilic of Croatia on Day 7 of 2017 ATP 1000 Shanghai Rolex Masters on October 14, 2017 at Qizhong Stadium in Shanghai, China. (Oct. 13, 2017 – Source: Kevin Lee/Getty Images AsiaPac)
Rafael Nadal of Spain reacts during the Men’s Single Semi-Final match between Rafael Nadal of Spain and Marin Cilic of Croatia on Day 7 of 2017 ATP 1000 Shanghai Rolex Masters on October 14, 2017 at Qizhong Stadium in Shanghai, China. (Oct. 13, 2017 – Source: Kevin Lee/Getty Images AsiaPac)
Rafael Nadal of Spain returns a shot during the Men’s singles Semifinal mach against Marin Cilic of Coratia on day seven of 2017 ATP Shanghai Rolex Masters at Qizhong Stadium on October 14, 2017 in Shanghai, China. (Oct. 13, 2017 – Source: Lintao Zhang/Getty Images AsiaPac)
Rafael Nadal of Spain returns a shot during the Men’s singles Semifinal mach against Marin Cilic of Coratia on day seven of 2017 ATP Shanghai Rolex Masters at Qizhong Stadium on October 14, 2017 in Shanghai, China. (Oct. 13, 2017 – Source: Lintao Zhang/Getty Images AsiaPac)
Rafael Nadal of Spain returns a shot during the Men’s singles Semifinal mach against Marin Cilic of Coratia on day seven of 2017 ATP Shanghai Rolex Masters at Qizhong Stadium on October 14, 2017 in Shanghai, China. (Oct. 13, 2017 – Source: Lintao Zhang/Getty Images AsiaPac)
SHANGHAI, CHINA – OCTOBER 14: Rafael Nadal of Spain shakes hands with his opponent after winning his Men’s singles semi-final match against Marin Cilic of Croatia on day 7 of 2017 ATP Shanghai Rolex Masters at Qizhong Stadium on October 14, 2017 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by Yifan Ding/Getty Images)
Rafael Nadal of Spain celebrates after winning the Men’s singles Semifinal mach against Marin Cilic of Coratia on day seven of 2017 ATP Shanghai Rolex Masters at Qizhong Stadium on October 14, 2017 in Shanghai, China. (Oct. 13, 2017 – Source: Lintao Zhang/Getty Images AsiaPac)
Rafael Nadal of Spain celebrates after winning the Men’s singles Semifinal mach against Marin Cilic of Coratia on day seven of 2017 ATP Shanghai Rolex Masters at Qizhong Stadium on October 14, 2017 in Shanghai, China. (Oct. 13, 2017 – Source: Lintao Zhang/Getty Images AsiaPac)
Rafael Nadal of Spain celebrates after winning the Men’s singles Semifinal mach against Marin Cilic of Coratia on day seven of 2017 ATP Shanghai Rolex Masters at Qizhong Stadium on October 14, 2017 in Shanghai, China. (Oct. 13, 2017 – Source: Lintao Zhang/Getty Images AsiaPac)
Rafael Nadal of Spain celebrates after winning the Men’s singles Semifinal mach against Marin Cilic of Coratia on day seven of 2017 ATP Shanghai Rolex Masters at Qizhong Stadium on October 14, 2017 in Shanghai, China. (Oct. 13, 2017 – Source: Lintao Zhang/Getty Images AsiaPac)
Rafael Nadal of Spain celebrates after winning the Men’s singles Semifinal mach against Marin Cilic of Coratia on day seven of 2017 ATP Shanghai Rolex Masters at Qizhong Stadium on October 14, 2017 in Shanghai, China. (Oct. 13, 2017 – Source: Lintao Zhang/Getty Images AsiaPac)
Rafael Nadal of Spain celebrates after defeating Marin Cilic of Croatia during Men’s Single Semi-Final on Day 7 of 2017 ATP 1000 Shanghai Rolex Masterson October 14, 2017 at Qizhong Stadium in Shanghai, China. (Oct. 13, 2017 – Source: Kevin Lee/Getty Images AsiaPac)
Rafael Nadal of Spain celebrates after defeating Marin Cilic of Croatia during Men’s Single Semi-Final on Day 7 of 2017 ATP 1000 Shanghai Rolex Masterson October 14, 2017 at Qizhong Stadium in Shanghai, China. (Oct. 13, 2017 – Source: Kevin Lee/Getty Images AsiaPac)
SHANGHAI, CHINA – OCTOBER 14: Rafael Nadal of Spain takes pictures after winning his Men’s singles semi-final match against Marin Cilic of Croatia on day 7 of 2017 ATP Shanghai Rolex Masters at Qizhong Stadium on October 14, 2017 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by Yifan Ding/Getty Images)
Rafa from what I read above you played a magnificent game today.
All the best in the final.
Love and prayers,
AlaineXXSydneyXXAustraliaXX
So happy for you Rafa,congratulations champ you play so good .vamosssssssss all the way.🎾🎾🎾🎾👍👍👍👍❤️❤️❤️❤️😘😘😘😘🏆
Looks like the second set is lost, lets hope Del Potro can calm down regroup and pull out something great in the third set, or two great friend’s will be meeting again tomorrow.
Rafa, all I can say is that you are my hero! Rest well, and best of luck tomorrow!
Wow! First set to Del Potro. I can see the gap in points between Rafa and Roger widening, that’s probably why Roger is so grouchy.
Marvellous – delpo got 1st set.
Oh dear , Roger is getting a little irritated , and I’m not surprised looking at that score, let’s hope Del Potro can keep the pressure on.
Roger seems a bit crabby today. Apparently he’s been quite ratty over the last few matches too.
Yes, Del potro has just broke Roger
Soooo happy for you my Rafa!! Was a bit worried but thank God!!!
Now mr. Federer – hope he is less lucky than the past.
Cmon Rafa you can absolutely do it! Please do!
In the meantime rest well!
VAMOS
Such a hard fought win Rafa the warrior. He looks so tired from about the 5th game of the 2nd set. At the end he looked exhausted . Cilic was very aggressive on attack. But the champ got through well done and please rest eat and sleep well for tomorrow for maximum recovery .
So happy for you. Take rest and than good luck for tomorrow. You can do it!!! Vamos Rafa <3
Rafa, what can I say other than congratz on reaching ANOTHER FINAL.
I was worried about this match but am very happy for you and your psyche for this win.
Wishing you the best in your final tomorrow.
RAFA ROCKS SHANGHAI
Oh, my goodness.!! All this suspense is not good for one’s heart as one ages.( 83 ). Fortunately my heart is sound or I might not have made it through the match especially during the final three games and the tiebreaker. Nail biting stuff.
Rafa kept his head and his cool and thank goodness he didn’t have to play a third set.
He needs something left in the tank to face Fed to-morrow. ( I am just presuming Fed will defeat Del Potro after he injured his wrist yesterday. )
Fed gets all the luck. A comparatively easy draw followed by an injured semi-finalist.
But no matter the outcome to-morrow my admiration for Rafa- his humility, his respect for his oponents, his general attitude to life- grows and grows..
Rafa is my hero forever.!!
Hi Beverley. It’s touching to read those words from you. Take care. Hopefully Rafa won’t make you “suffer” again tomorrow. 😋🍀🤞🏻
beverly,
Rafa should give everything for the final tomorrow. Then he needs to drop out for basel. Roig and Moya should forbid nadal to touch his racket. The last two matches you could see nadal was tired. If he had lost the second set to cilic then I could see him losing the match. So rafa drop out from basel and rest after tomorrow
Congrats to our champ! Rafa was great today, good stuff, but still I missed his very hot shots today! He had a fenomenal pass today! That was awesome! Rafa was strong today and he stayed focused! That was the key for this win!
LOL
For you cretins who gave Rafantastic thumbs down on her gorgeous post, you KNOW where you can stick YOUR thumb. COWARDS!!!
Cheers to you Margo 🤗
LOL😂
RAFA ROCKS 2017
Vamos Rafa!
Great win-strong and focussed💪👊👍👏way to win tiebreak😍Good luck in final🍀💕
INCREIBLE!!!! MARGNIFICO!!!!…ENHORABUENA!!!!!…
YES! This is awesome!! 👏🏻😍Congratulations champ – well done 🤗
The best of luck at the finals tomorrow 😘🍀 VAMOOS RAFA!! 🎾💪🏼😃