[ad_1]
INDIAN WELLS, Calif. – The undercard became the main event of the Indian Wells Tennis Garden on Saturday.
The crowd was eager to see Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal reconnect with their rivalry, with some fans having paid a high price to get a ticket for the last hour of the match for Stadium 1.
But Nadal, with tendonitis in his right knee, quickly announced his withdrawal after testing the knee during a morning workout.
The only men's semifinals to be contested Saturday at the Open BNP Paribas were dominated by Dominic Thiem and Milos Raonic, and Thiem defeated 7-6 (3), 6-7 (3), 6-4, in a match of contrasting styles. in which there was only one interruption of service.
That happened at 2-2 in the third set, when Thiem finally found a window of opportunity against Raonic's huge (and improved) service. Raonic fired a forehand into the net as he was facing the point of the break, and Thiem won despite his relatively shaky final match in which he had to save the only point of the break that he had. He knew all afternoon.
It will be Thiem against Federer in Sunday's final. It will be the ninth final here in the desert for the fourth seed, Federer, who has won the title five times but lost last year's final after losing three match points against Juan MartÃn del Potro.
Thiem, seventh seeded, will be the first final at Indian Wells. It could be a remarkable duel because of everyone's flashy style and their 2-2 record in head-to-head.
But this will not generate the same kind of anticipation as a Federer-Nadal revenge. They have not clashed for 17 months and that would have been their 39th singles match. Nadal, who has been suffering from patellar tendinitis for years, has felt a new pain in the final stages of his quarter-final win over Karen Khachanov on Friday.
Late Saturday morning, Nadal sent an SMS to his rival friend Federer to let him know that he could not play.
"For me, it's not just today," said Nadal. "It's about what it means for me to be forced to participate in a tournament I love so much, and the semifinals after playing well throughout the tournament. You can imagine that I can not be happy. "
Nadal also announced his withdrawal from the Miami Open, which begins next week and is one of the few important events he has not won. His decision not to play Saturday was also taken in order to preserve his season on clay. Nadal said he hoped to be ready to play on clay in Monte Carlo next month.
Federer, 37, appeared in the stadium after the Thiem-Raonic match to give fans a field interview. Nadal leads their rival, 23-15, but Federer has won five straight victories, most recently in the Shanghai Masters final in 2017.
"We've had so many epic battles, and yes, I know everyone we have now could be our last," Federer said. "So was this our chance for the last one? I really hope not, and I really believe that at the level where he plays and I'm still going there, there will certainly be more. "
[ad_2]
Source link