Rafael Nadal is finally playing inspired tennis for the first time in quite some time. His excellent play of late has catapulted him to his second s ATP Masters 1000 tournament semifinal stint in Monte Carlo, inching closer to his first finals appearance since the season-kicker Qatar Open.
The 29-year old Nadal punched his ticket to the final four of Monte Carlo Masters with a dominant performance against world's no.4 and reigning French Open champion Stan Wawrinka 6-1, 6-4 on Friday. The Spaniard converted 84 percent of his first service to points and 57 percent of his second service [see Pro Tennis Live Stats].
Nadal called the victory over the Swiss a confidence-booster for him ahead of his semifinal showdown with Great Britain's no.1 and world's no.2 Andy Murray.
After surviving Benoit Paire in a three-set thriller 2-6, 7-5, 7-5, Murray had an easier match against Milos Raonic as he cruised through a 6-2, 6-0 victory over the up-and-coming Canadian.
The red-dirt wasn't really Murray's strong surface, but his last year's performance during European clay-court season that saw him winning the Madrid Masters and reaching the semifinal of the French Open suggests that the Briton has become a force to be reckoned with on clay.
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Nadal currently has a 16-6 head-to-head advantage, though Murray won their last encounter on clay in the final of the 2015 Madrid Masters. For Nadal, beating a top-caliber player like Murray would not only get him a ticket in the final of Monte Carlo, his confidence in his shots would also skyrocket to the point of shattering the barrier that has been preventing him to blow up the past two seasons.
Right now, Nadal is at 75 percent of his former self, still far from the dominant Mallorcan Bull who blew away competitions with fast-paced, burgeoning playing style. But at this point of the season, it seems the Spaniard on track of becoming a major force at Roland Garros.
As a matter of fact, this weaker version of Nadal is capable of beating Murray and either of two Frenchman semifinals (Gael Monfils and Jo Wilfried Tsonga) in the Monte Carlo finals. Nadal is peaking at the right time and this is a bad development for Djokovic and the rest of the field.