Nadal Two Wins Away from Ending Drought at Miami Open

Rafael Nadal is two wins away from a career first…

The 30-year-old Spanish tennis star, a four-time runner-up at the Miami Open, defeated American Jack Sock to advance to the men’s semifinals on Wednesday.

Rafael Nadal

Nadal and Sock have the two most fearful forehands in the game, but at Key Biscayne, it was the Spaniard who showed Sock that other parts of the game matter, as well.

Nadal’s opponent Friday will be Fabio Fognini, who became the first unseeded player in 10 years to reach the men’s semis at Key Biscayne when he beat 2016 runner-up Kei Nishikori 6-4, 6-2.

Nadal is playing Key Biscayne for the 13th time, making it his longest title drought at any tournament. He committed only 12 unforced errors against the No. 13-seeded Sock, rallied from a break down in the second set and improved his lifetime record against Americans to 60-9.

Fognini matched his best showing in an ATP Masters 1000 event. By beating the No. 2-seeded Nishikori, Fognini improved to 9-44 against top-10 players, and he became the first Italian man to reach a semifinal at Key Biscayne.

“He’s playing well,” Nadal said. “It will be a good test for me. I’m happ to be in the semifinals. I’ll have to play my best and play aggressive like I did today.”

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