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Roger Federer faces Juan Martin del Potro in second semi-final
The penultimate ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event of the season, the Shanghai Rolex Masters, is poised for a dramatic finale. While the tournament is down to four players, the excitement is only increasing with tantalising match-ups on Saturday in the semi-finals.
Three of the top four seeds remain, with second seed Roger Federer the only player to have previously won the title. While No. 1 Rafael Nadal and No. 16 Juan Martin del Potro have reached the final, in 2009 and 2013, respectively, No. 4 Marin Cilic is appearing in his first Shanghai semi-final, playing to guarantee his spot in the Nitto ATP Finals.
Plenty is on the line in the day’s first singles match, as Nadal brings a 4-1 lead in his FedEx ATP Head2Head series against Cilic, who is looking for his second win against a World No. 1. But perhaps more importantly, the Spaniard will look to extend his 15-match winning streak, which would put on hold the Croatian’s opportunity to qualify for London.
"He always is a very dangerous opponent, and I think this surface, this court helps him," said Nadal of Cilic. "Yeah, will be a tough one. It's true that I am playing well. Let's see. I know that I need to be very focused with my serve again, and I need to play aggressive and don't let him play from comfortable positions. If not, I will be almost dead because he's going to go for the shots and [it's] going to be very difficult."
Nadal is 9-0 in semi-final matches this season and is appearing in his fourth Shanghai semi-final (1-2). He reached the final in the event’s first year, 2009 (l. to Davydenko), and the semi-finals in 2013 (l. to del Potro) and 2015 (l. to Tsonga). Nadal, who has held in all 32 of his service games this week, is attempting to reach his tour-leading 10th final (6-3) of the season and 111th in his career (75-35). Nadal is also trying to earn a 31st career ATP Masters 1000 title, which would break the record that he shares with Novak Djokovic.
Cilic is playing in his third ATP World Tour Masters 1000 semi-final (1-1). He won his maiden Masters 1000 title at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati last year. Cilic, who has saved eight of nine break points to hold serve in 30 of 31 games this week, is 1-2 in finals (won the TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Open) this season and 17-13 overall in his career. He has won at least one ATP World Tour title for 10 consecutive years.
In the evening match, Federer and del Potro meet for the 23rd time, and the third in 2017. Federer holds a 16-6 FedEx ATP Head2Head series advantage, including an 11-6 edge on hard courts.
Del Potro fell while running around a backhand to hit a forehand during the third set of his victory over Viktor Troicki in the quarter-finals, hurting his surgically-repaired left wrist. The Argentine's communications manager Jorge Viale tweeted that he suffered a contusion.
"I did see the fall. I saw the match. It was a good match," Federer said. "I hope for now that Juan Martin can recover and we can play a normal match tomorrow."
Federer is making his fourth semi-final showing in Shanghai (2-1), winning the 2014 title (d. Simon), reaching the 2010 final (l. to Murray) and the semi-finals in 2012 (l. to Murray). He is 6-0 in semi-final matches in 2017 (5-1 in finals). The Swiss is trying to reach his 143rd final (93-49) and will tie Ivan Lendl for second place on the Open Era titles list with his next trophy. He owns the most Masters 1000 wins (349) and is No. 3 with 26 Masters 1000 titles.
Del Potro is attempting to climb into contention in the Emirates ATP Race To London, after starting the week at No. 25. He prevented the first Federer-Nadal clash at the US Open when he eliminated the Swiss in the quarter-finals at Flushing Meadows this September. Del Potro is appearing in his first ATP Masters 1000 semi-final since Shanghai in 2013, when he reached the final (l. to Djokovic). He is looking to advance to his first ATP World Tour final since winning the Intrum Stockholm Open last October (d. Sock). He has yet to win a Masters 1000 crown, advancing to three previous finals.
Del Potro will return to the Top 20 in the Emirates ATP Rankings on Monday for the first time since Oct. 6, 2014 (at No. 19).
Regardless of Saturday’s results, Shanghai will surely get an enthralling final on Sunday in the penultimate Masters 1000 event of the season.