Monaco: World number one Rafael Nadal will aim to cement his spot in the finals of the Monte Carlo Masters when he crosses sword with fourth-seed Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria in their last-four clash here on Saturday.
The Spanish tennis maestro had earlier stormed into the semi-finals of the tournament after brushing aside Dominic Thiem of Austria 6-0, 6-2 in a one-sided last-eight clash of the men’s singles event that lasted one hour and seven minutes.
It should be noted that 16-time Grand Slam champion Nadal is bidding for an 11th Monte Carlo title and a record 31st Masters title.
Dimitrov, on the other hand, outplayed Belgian tennis star David Goffin 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) to book his place in the last-four of the tournament for the first time.
Nadal and Dimitrov have met each other previously on 11 occasions and the world number one emerged victorious in ten of those.
Dimitrov’s only win against Nadal came in Beijing at the tail-end of the 2016 season, when the Bulgarin star put in an excellent performance in the quarterfinals to topple the top-ranked star.
In another semi-final clash, Japan’s Kei Nishikori will also look to seal final spot when he locks horns with third-seed Alexander Zverev Jr of Germany later today.
While Nishikori produced a spirited performance to clinch a 6-4, 6-7 (1-7), 6-3 win over Croatia’s Marin Cilic in their last-eight clash, Zverev stormed into semi-finals with a 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 win over France’s Richard Gasquet.
ANI