By Richard Pagliaro | Friday, May 8, 2015

 

Rafael Nadal reeled off five of the final six games defeating Grigor Dimitrov, 6-3, 6-4, to reach the Madrid semifinals.

Photo credit: Mutua Madrid Open

Scattering an error after surrending serve, an annoyed Grigor Dimitrov wound up and splattered his racquet to the red clay creating a mangled mess of the black frame.

It took a little while, but Rafael Nadal eventually drove Dimitrov into self-destructive moments in Madrid.

Video: Nadal's Sizzling Madrid 2011 Tweener

Down a break in the second set, Nadal reeled off five of the final six games defeating Dimitrov, 6-3, 6-4, to advance to the Madrid Open semifinals for the seventh time in the last eight years.

The four-time champion scored his 13th straight win in Madrid. Nadal will play either No. 6 seed Tomas Berdych or 16th-seeded John Isner for a trip to his seventh Madrid final.

Nerves were evident at the outset today as the pair traded three straight breaks in the first five games.

Ultimately, it was a match in which Nadal's tenacity and positivity were nearly as important as his topspin and angles.

The third seed whipped a backhand pass to break for 2-1, but suffered a sloppy lapse in a four-error game to give the break right back.

Dimitrov often chose to stand at the baseline and trade groundstrokes with Nadal, which produced some exciting running exchanges but also gave the Spaniard the repetition of rallies he craves in finding his groove. Nadal broke for the second time in a row, then fended off two break points for a 4-2 lead.

Dimitrov played more assertively swatting successive forehand winners to save a pair of set points in the ninth game. But Nadal targeted the Bulgarian's one-handed backhand with his lefty forehand and drew the error for a third set point. When Dimitrov slapped a forehand sitter into net, Nadal had the opening set in 52 minutes.

Dimitrov's improvisational skill helped him score the first break of the second set. Racing forward, Dimitrov lunged for a sliding forehand stab half volley breaking with finesse for a 2-1 advantage. That came after a thrilling point when Dimitrov flicked a drop shot off the tape, Nadal nudged a lob over his head and the Bulgarian's attempt at a showtime tweener landed wide.

Nadal nearly broke back in the fourth game, but his running forehand narrowly missed curling inside the sideline on break point. Running around his backhand, Dimitrov was dancing in the doubles alley when he stung a forehand winner down the line that helped him hold for 3-1.

It was the kind of bold low-percentage strike the Bulgarian knew he needed to produce to beat the Spaniard for the first time in six meetings.

The maddening aspect of watching Dimitrov is he can make the sensational shot look effortless then botch routine rally shots. Netting a backhand to face double break point, Dimitrov threw up his hands and muttered "nothing's working" to his box facing double break point. Zapping an inside-out forehand winner, Nadal threw a fist breaking back for 3-all.

Festering frustration erupted as Dimitrov spiked his racquet incurring whistles from the crowd. Dimitrov, holding the wreckage that left the head of the racquet dangling off throat, raised his hands in apology as he pulled a new stick from his bag. But Nadal had the match in his grip and wasn't letting go, closing with a surprise serve-and-volley winner for 4-3.

It wasn't a completely smooth semifinal landing for the reigning champion. Nadal fended off a break point and screamed "Vamos!" when Dimitrov scattered a slice backhand, eventually holding for 5-4. Nadal framed a forehand on his first match point, but blasted a return at Dimitrov's feet to convert the second, sealing it one hour, 47 minutes.