Spaniard now faces showdown with old rival Roger Federer
Saturday 14 October 2017 15:59, UK
World No 1 Rafael Nadal survived a rollercoaster encounter with Marin Cilic to make it through to Sunday's final of the Shanghai Masters.
Nadal, who was a finalist here in 2009, finally saw off the Croat after saving three set points in the opener on the way to a tight and tense 7-5 7-6 (7-3) victory to set up a mouth-watering clash against Roger Federer.
"He was a tough opponent who played huge," Nadal told Sky Sports. "There were some great points and I was pushed to the limits because he was hitting the ball so strong.
"The court is probably one of the quickest I've played on this year, so it wasn't easy, but I think I'm playing well.
"I'm playing with confidence. I've been playing well the whole year so I'm just very happy with the performance. The most important thing is to stay in front of the baseline and go to the net very often which is very important on this surface."
Federer, the second seed, dropped his first set of the week, but fought back to defeat Juan Martin del Potro 3-6 6-3 6-3 in the other semi-final.
Cilic had only got the better of 16-time Grand Slam winner Nadal once in five previous meetings, but he made him work hard for this latest win.
Nadal, pursuing a third successive triumph, having been crowned US Open and China Open champion in recent weeks, put Cilic under immediate pressure in the Croat's first two service games.
But 29-year-old Cilic, the 2014 US Open champion, eventually settled, only to squander three set points as Nadal hung on grimly.
In the next game, 31-year-old Nadal capitalised, breaking Cilic on the way to claiming the first set.
The red-hot Spaniard had not lost his serve in 32 service games, but Cilic broke him twice, in the sixth and 10th games of the second set, although Nadal made sure it went into the tiebreak.
Nadal's ability to hold his nerve in clutch situations proved the difference as he pulled away for victory and improve his winning streak to 16 matches.
"This is an important title," added Nadal, who overtook Andre Agassi on the list of all-time Open-era wins with his 871st victory. "It's a Masters 1000 and one of the tournaments that I have never won before so I'm going to try my best. I need to be ready to play my best."
We will have all the action from the conclusion of the Shanghai Masters before we head to the Erste Bank Open and Swiss Indoors Basel and then the Paris Masters.
The Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan and season-ending extravaganza World Tour Finals at London's O2 in November end another memorable year which will be covered via our website www.skysports.com/tennis with live blogs and updates as the season reaches its climax.
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