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The top 4 made it to the semifinals of the Rogers Cup to set up a full house at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Toronto. This is the first time in the history of Rogers Cup that the top 4 will clash in the semifinals. While Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray eased past their opponents in the Quarters, World No. 1 Rafael Nadal and former No, 1 Roger Federer were made to work hard to make their way through to the semifinals.
Rafael Nadal
Andy Murray defeated David Nalbandian 6-2 6-2 and in the process also snapped his 11 match winning streak. Murray was at his very best and gave the Argentine no chance as he produced one of his best serving performances of the season. Nalbandian on the other hand blamed the hectic schedules which forced him to play 10 matches in the last 14 days.
World No. 1 Rafael Nadal had to sweat out against German Phillip Kohlscheiber in a 3 set encounter (3-6, 6-3, 6-4). Kohlscheiber took the first set 6-3 but after that it was all Nadal, who didn’t give the German any breathing space and won the final 2 sets.
Nadal, who is aiming to become the first man to win 4 consecutive ATP Masters 1000, after his victory at Monte Carlo, Rome and Madrid, next faces Andy Murray in the semifinals. Murray will look to extract revenge from this encounter, after his straight set defeat at the hands of Nadal at Wimbledon earlier this year.
In the other half of the draw, Roger Federer survived a scare against Thomas Berdych with a 6-3 5-7 7-6(7-5) win. Federer was on the verge of defeat as he trailed 5-2 in the final set with the Czech coming 3 times within 2 points of victory. But the former No. 1 showed his determination and class to win the third set in a tiebreaker and thus avenged his Wimbledon defeat.
Federer who is looking for his first title since Australian Open will have to get past World No. 2 Novak Djokovic to make it through to the finals. Earlier, Djokovic eased past Jeremy Chady with a 6-2 6-3 victory. For Federer, this is one of the most important phase of his career and his position here and at Cincinnati and US Open will certainly determine the course of his late career.
Rogers Cup along with the Cincinnati are preview to the US Open and the winner will certainly gain an upper hand going into the US Open. With the top 4 making it to the semifinals at Toronto, it’s a delight for tennis fans all over the world which can only double if Federer and Nadal make it to the finals to renew their rivalry.
