Milos Raonic’s dream Mubadala debut continues

Abu Dhabi: Milos Raonic’s dream Mubadala World Tennis Championship debut continued on Friday after the world number 14 shocked the reigning French Open champion Stanislas Wawrinka 7-5, 7-5 to reach the final of the Abu Dhabi season-opener.

The big-serving Canadian will meet Rafael Nadal in Saturday’s showpiece at the International Tennis Stadium, Zayed Sports City, with the Spaniard bidding to win his third Mubadala crown to add to his 2010 and 2011 triumphs.

Nadal overpowered his compatriot David Ferrer 6-3, 6-7 (4-7), 6-3 in the day’s first semi-final, which lasted two hours and 23 minutes.

The gruelling encounter was the second-longest match in the tournament’s history, six minutes less than Nadal’s clash with Andy Murray in the semi-finals last year.

Raonic was on court for almost an hour less in dispatching Wawrinka, who will take on Ferrer in the third-place match at 5pm ahead of the 7pm final, in 90 minutes.

Victory for the 6ft 5ins Raonic looked unlikely when Wawrinka stormed into a 5-2 lead, only for the Swiss to surprisingly implode and lose the next five games and the first set.

Two further breaks in the second set allowed Raonic to secure his first victory against the two-time grand slam champion in their fifth meeting.

The 25-year-old will have to upset the odds again on Saturday as Nadal has beaten him six times in their seven previous encounters.

“It’s been great so far,” said Raonic, who beat South Africa’s Kevin Anderson 6-3, 6-4 on Thursday to reach the last four, of his first appearance at the Mubadala event. “It’s a great way to start the year playing two top-five guys [in Wawrinka and Nadal]. It’s all you can ask for.”

“It was a great match and I enjoyed the rhythm and intensity and very happy with the way I played and moved,” an equally delighted Nadal, the world number five, said. “It’s important to start the year with a victory.”

Can he provide a sterner test to leading players like the world number one Novak Djokovic and the evergreen Roger Federer in 2016 after an indifferent 2015?

“I am working hard to be at the level of these players. I know when I was playing well, I was ready to compete against all of these guys.

“I feel good now and I feel ready to compete. It’s great to be back in the final and I am going to try my best to win.”

Nadal, who is making his seventh appearance at the eight-year-old Mubadala event, needed only 34 minutes to wrap up the first set, against one of the most redoubtable opponents on the men’s tour. He sealed it in style with an ace, an early break in the fourth game proving enough.

The 14-time grand slam winner then took command of the second set with a break in the third game, but Ferrer bounced back to level the scores at 4-4 following a string of three consecutive break of serves.

Ferrer then took the match into the third set after edging the tie-break 7-4 in a punishing 68-minute second set.

Nadal recaptured his first-set form early in the decider, breaking Ferrer in the second game and, although a trade of serves ensued, he clinched victory with a venomous forehand on his first match point.

FRIDAY’S RESULTS

Fifth-place play-off: Feliciano Lopez bt Kevin Anderson 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-3)

First semi-final: Rafael Nadal bt David Ferrer 6-3, 6-7 (4-7), 6-3

Milos Raonic bt Stanislas Wawrinka 7-5, 7-5

SATURDAY’S SCHEDULE

12pm: Star player clinics

12pm: Tennis Village opens

2pm: Hospitality opens – Two star player visits throughout the day

3.30pm: Autograph signing with star player

3.45pm: Autograph signing with star player

5pm: Third-place match - David Ferrer vs Stanislas Wawrinka

7pm: Championship match - Rafael Nadal vs Milos Raonic

9pm (approx.): Championship award ceremony