Nadal outlasts Djokovic to set up Raonic final
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Rafael Nadal defeated two-time defending champion Novak Djokovic 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (2) in a thrilling 2-1/2-hour match on Saturday to reach the final of the Montreal Rogers Cup.
The fourth-ranked Spaniard, who defeated Djokovic in the semifinals of the French Open this year on his way to winning the championship, will be aiming for his eighth title of the season but only his second on hardcourts. The others have all come on clay.
“I said yesterday the only chance to win against Novak, the only tactic is to play very well,” Nadal said. “And I did. I played a very high level tonight, I think. I played with the right decisions in the important moments.”
In the final, Nadal will play Milos Raonic, who beat fellow Canadian Vasek Pospisil 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (4) in the other semifinal to ensure he’ll crack the top 10 in the world rankings for the first time in his career.
Nadal and Djokovic were playing for the 36th time, tying the record for matches contested by two players in the Open era set by John McEnroe and Ivan Lendl. Nadal leads the series 21-15, and with the win, narrowed Djokovic’s advantage on hardcourts to 11-6.
“It was very close match,” Djokovic said. “Whenever we play against each other, it’s always a thrilling match for the crowd to see.”
Nadal, who is coming off a disappointing first-round loss at Wimbledon, opened up a 6-0 lead in the third-set tiebreaker before converting on his third match point when Djokovic hit a return long. The Spaniard has an ATP-best 47-3 record this year and will rise to No. 3 in the rankings, regardless of whether he wins the final.
Raonic, currently ranked 13th, will be going for his second title of the season and fifth of his career. He’ll become the first Canadian to be ranked in the top 10 when the new rankings are released today.
“They’re all very special, but I think the top-10 one stands out more just because it’s a goal that I set this year,” he said.
The last Canadian to win the event was Robert Bedard, who took the last of his three titles in 1958.
In Toronto, Serena Williams will be aiming for her eighth title of the season after reaching the Rogers Cup final with a 7-6 (3), 6-4 win over Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska on Saturday.
Williams, a two-time Rogers Cup champion, will face Romania’s Sorana Cirstea, a 6-1, 7-6 (5) winner over Li Na of China in the other semifinal.
Williams is now 6-0 against Radwanska, including the Wimbledon final last year.
Williams will be trying to match her career high for titles in a single season with eight, which she last accomplished in 2002. She has 53 titles overall, tied for ninth on the all-time WTA list with Monica Seles.
Williams has beaten Cirstea in their two previous matches. The 27th-ranked Romanian won her lone WTA Tour title in 2008 in Tashkent.
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