Nadal through to Miami Open semis; defeats Raonic in 3 sets

Quarterfinals: Rafael Nadal def. Milos Raonic 4-6 6-2 6-4

Rafael Nadal battled his way into the Miami Open semifinals after overcoming a spirited effort from Canadian Milos Raonic. In an exciting contest between the two, the Spaniard came back from a set down to deny Raonic his first ever victory against him.

Raonic started in typical fashion, with his big booming serves. Nadal responded with booming forehand returns of his own, but Raonic returned deep and earned himself a break point. Nadal wiped them off easily with two good serves and leveled the score at 1-1.

A tense battle followed at 2-2. Nadal created three break point opportunities, but Raonic held steady with cannon like returns and creating wide angles, making it impossible for Nadal to reach.

That was a missed opportunity for Nadal but he quickly recovered and produced a stellar service game to claw back at 3-3.

Nadal put Raonic’s defence under pressure again in the next game. The accuracy with which he returned his shots were simply amazing at times as he reached break point again when Raonic played a shot into the net. Again, he failed to capitalize, making unforced errors of his own.

As the set reached its business end, both players continued to hit some remarkable shots, but neither managed to get that decisive break.

Raonic led 5-4 and had a go at Nadal’s serve. Down 15-30, Nadal stuck to his reliable service out wide to Raonic’s backhand and then forced an error out of him again to go to game point. Raonic didn’t let go and at deuce, made an exquisite slice drop at the net to reach set point. Nadal double faulted to hand Raonic his first set against him in 4 meetings, also ending Nadal’s unbroken streak in the tournament.

Nadal had to break early in the second set and he did exactly that. Coming to the net and directing shots to Raonic’s backhand, Nadal earned a break in the opening game, when Raonic double faulted on break point.

He consolidated the break, in spite of a challenging game from Raonic to lead 2-0.

Raonic had quickly lost the intensity he had in the first set as he double faulted yet again on break point to give Nadal a second break of serve in two successive games.

Down 4-0, Raonic seemed completely out of sorts, with his shots flaying wildly and Nadal being omnipresent on his returns. Being break point down, he was very close to potentially being wiped out 6-0, but he recomposed himself and got his first game on the board.

Raonic did manage to find his rhythm in his service game but it was too little too late, as Nadal wrapped up the set 6-2 to get right back into the match.

The third set was tense and tight, especially for Raonic, who was forced to work hard to hold each of his service games. Nadal played his best game of the match, serving at 2-3. He was all fired up, pushed Raonic to one corner thrice, and fired a bullet forehand to the cross court all three times, to level at 3-3 with a love hold.

The Canadian played with all his might in the next game, and defended with his life as he won an excruciating rally to get to game point. Nadal rallied back and played some brilliant tennis and combated mightily to break Raonic and lead 4-3.

The match progressed as expected, with Raonic forcing Nadal to serve for the match.

Nadal was spectacular in the final game as he raced away to a 40-0 lead and won the match when Raonic hit a forehand long. His exultation at the end showed how important a victory this was for him. This was a tough test for Nadal but he found a way to overcome the challenge put on by Raonic. He now moves to the semifinals, where he’ll face Czech Tomas Berdych.