Rafael Nadal continued his winning streak at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel on Thursday, overcoming the determined qualifier Yoshihito Nishioka 7-6(2), 6-3 to reach the semi-finals in Acapulco.
The second seed improves to 13-0 at this tournament and has won all 26 sets he’s played. Nadal’s previous Acapulco titles in 2005 and 2013 came on red clay. He’s seeking his first hard-court title since prevailing at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in January 2014.
Standing between Nadal and a spot in Saturday’s final is third seed Marin Cilic, who advanced to the final four without hitting a ball due to the withdrawal of Steve Johnson. The American suffered a sprained ankle during his second-round victory on Wednesday against wild card and #NextGenATP player Ernesto Escobedo. Nadal leads his FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry against Cilic 3-1 and has won their past three matches.
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The 21-year-old Nishioka, competing in his first ATP World Tour quarter-final of 2017, showed no sign of nerves in one of the biggest matches of his career. He repeatedly tracked down shots that would be winners for Nadal against most players and goaded the Spaniard into numerous errors on his forehand wing. Nishioka twice held serve to stay in the opening set and force a tie-break. But Nadal's forehand, which often betrayed him throughout the first set, came alive when it mattered most. He raced to a 5/0 lead and cracked a forehand winner on his first set point to grab the early advantage.
Nishioka refused to go away quietly and immediately scored an early break to go up 2-0 in the second set. But as Nadal continued to find the range on his shots, the intensity of the grueling baseline rallies appeared to finally take their toll on the Japanese player. The second seed went on a four-game run to lead 4-2 in the second set, which included several timely volleys. Nadal went 12/12 on net approaches during the match, fittingly hitting an overhead smash on match point to wrap up the contest in one hour and 57 minutes.
Sam Querrey continued his inspired run in Acapulco by halting fourth seed Dominic Thiem 6-1, 7-5. The Austrian, perhaps feeling the effects of a grueling month that has seen him go from indoor hard courts in Sofia and Rotterdam to red clay in Rio de Janeiro, appeared flat as Querrey controlled the rallies with his trademark serve and forehand.
The American sprinted to a 5-3 lead in the second set, but showed his first sign of nerves in trying to serve out the match. Thiem fought hard to level the score at 5-5, but Querrey responded with an immediate break back. It appeared the match might head to a tie-break after Querrey dropped to 0/40 on his serve, but he regained his rhythm and fired a forehand winner on his first match point.
“You usually play well in the same places and I’m really comfortable here,” said Querrey. “I think I was more aggressive tonight, stepping up to the balls when they were short and it was also key to dig myself out of a few little holes.”
Awaiting Querrey in the final four will sixth-seeded Australian Nick Kyrgios, who overcame top seed Novak Djokovic in the final match of the day.