Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic successfully reached the semifinal of China Open after dispatching their respective foes in contrasting fashion. On Saturday, it's time to determine if there will be a showdown between the currently two best tennis players in the world.
Nadal kept his bid to reclaim the world's no.1 ranking alive after coming back from a one set and 4-1 deficit to fend off the upset bid from Italy's Fablo Fognini 2-6 6-4 6-1 in Friday's quarterfinal.
The Spaniard needed to reach at least the Final to become the top men's singles player again, but this ambition was momentarily in trouble as errors and apparently a bit of pain on his troublesome knee haunted him in the match. However, Nadal refused to bow down as he pulled off another remarkable comeback to book his place in the semifinal round.
On the other hand, Djokovic easily secured his place in the semis with a 6-1 6-2 demolition of Sam Querrey.
When asked if the pressure of arranging a finals showdown with his Serbian rival is taking the best of him, Nadal replied with this meaningful statement.
"It's something that doesn't create more pressure for me. "It's something that already happened in the past. If that happens again, it will be good, it will be special for me," said Nadal, who will be facing Tomas Berdych of Czech Republic in the semis.
Meanwhile, Serena Williams made it to the semifinal following her 6-1 6-4 win over former world's no.1 Caroline Wozniacki. Williams, who's looking to add another crown this year after bagging the French and US Open championship, believed she played well in the match despite the resistance from the Danish netter.
"I felt I played really well tonight, especially in the first set," Williams said during the post-game interview according to BBC. I played well in the second set too, but I think Caroline just played so much better and she lifted her game so much.
"But I think overall it was the best performance I've had this week, which I'm excited about," she added.
Williams will be facing Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska in the semis.
Live Stream Information & Schedule (Beijing Time)
Men's singles semifinal will kick off with Rafael Nadal vs. Tomas Berdych at 12:30 p.m. on Tennis Channel while Novak Djokovic vs. Richard Gasquet is scheduled at 7:30 p.m.
Women's singles semis match Serena Williams vs. Agnieszka Radwanska is slated at 4:30 p.m. while Petra Kvitova vs. Jelena Jankovic is set at 2:00 p.m. on Tennis Channel.
Live Streaming is available on ESPN Watch. Live scores is available on ESPN.
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