Rafael Nadal (Spain) v Roger Federer (Switzerland) –
In case you’re wondering, there is a tennis god. How do we know? We are being rewarded with the 23rd installment of the Rafa and Rog show right here in a Friday night semi-final at the Sony Ericsson Open. For a brief time on Thursday night, it looked like Nadal was in trouble against Thomas Berdych in the quarter-final, but he got his act together and kept things according to plan.
Nadal is No. 1 these days, although he’s still looking for his first title of the year. In contrast, Federer is now at No. 3, bumped down by the red-hot Novak Djokovic, who beat Federer the three times he’s lost this season. Federer, however, has been in the winner’s circle this season, taking the honors in Doha with a win over Nikolay Davydenko.
Federer will be better rested going into Friday night as his Thursday afternoon match lasted all of seven minutes when Gilles Simon’s sore neck sent him packing with Fed ahead 3-0. In contrast, Nadal went three with Berdych. Federer’s won this title twice, but Nadal is still in the hunt for his first Miami trophy. That said, Nadal brings his best to the court when facing Federer, whether it be on hard courts, grass or clay.
The Spaniard now boasts a 14-8 winning record over Federer. However, the Swiss won their last encounter at the Barclay’s ATP World Tour Finals at the end of last year. This match will be tight, but it will be Rafael who rules.
Friday, April 1, 2011
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