02 April,2011 05:50 AM IST | | PA Sport
Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer will battle on an American court for the first time in six years after the great rivals set up a semi-final showdown at the Miami Open today.
Spaniard Rafael Nadal during his Miami Open quarter-final match against
Czech Republic's Tomas Berdych. Nadal won 6-2, 3-6, 6-3. Pic/AFP
Federer's quarter-final opponent Gilles Simon retired from their match due to a neck injury, when the Frenchman trailed 3-0 in the first set, allowing the World No 3 to conserve his energy. In contrast, World No 1 Nadal had to use every ounce of his energy to seal a place in the last four, beating Tomas Berdych 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.
Roger Federer
Swiss Federer and Spaniard Nadal have played each other 22 times, with Nadal winning 14 times, and their first two matches both came in Miami, in 2004 and 2005. A teenage Nadal won the first, causing a sensation, and Federer took his revenge in the following year's final.
Although Novak Djokovic has managed to come between them this season, rising to No 2 in the rankings, Federer admitted: "My number one rival to me it seems is Rafa. It doesn't matter how many more times I'm going to be playing all the other guys. At the moment, we have that history and nobody can take it away from us."
