Nadal Fixes a Date With Roger

Rafael Nadal, the energetic young Spaniard booked a semifinal date with the world number one Roger Fedrer after the former defeated the Russian Nikolay Davydenko in a hard fought battles of long rallies and thumping winners at the Masters Cup in Shanghai.

Nadal overcame one set deficit and a troublesome left knee to clinch the match 5-7, 6-4, 6-4. The Russian had taken the control initially with controlled play and taking advantage of the weak serves from Nadal in the first set. However, the Spaniard hit the button from the second set, seizing important opportunities. Nadal fired 38 winners, 32 unforced errors and converted on three of eight break points. Davydenko had a poor day with success on just one of eight break points. The match went on for 2 hours and 35 minutes.

“To be frank I am very tired”, said Davydenko. “I try to stay focused but my concentration started to leave my in the second set”. "But anyway, I am happy for what I had this season, maybe I will decrease the number of events I play, but right now, I am just proud for my performance of the year." He added.

The four semifinalists are Blake, Nalbandian, Fedrer and Nadal. Blake will take on the defending champion Nalbandian and Nadal will be up against Fedrer for the semifinals.

All eyes will be set on the semifinal between Fedrer and Nadal as the two meet after the Wimbledon finals where Fedrer had the better of his opponent. Overall Nadal leads 6-2 in terms of victories against the top seed which includes the victory at the French open finals.

However, there has not been any spectacular display of tennis from Nadal after that, with injuries taking a toll on the youngster. Knee problem and abdominal injury has prevented him from playing at his best. "I was down a little bit over the months," he said. "I think I play my best tennis tonight. With the victory, I hope I would return to my usual form in the semi-finals."

“Tomorrow's going to be a very difficult match. Roger is playing at his best level; he's giving the best performances of his life." Nadal went on to acknowledge.

In the other encounter, James Blake had lost to Tommy Robredo 6-2, 3-6, 7-5 but still managed to reach the semi final as he topped the Gold Group.

Fedrer remains the favorite to lift the Masters Cup, but the path is certainly not a bed of roses.