Rafael Nadal got rid of another big demon Friday in his continuing resurgence.
Viva Rafa, indeed, after Nadal whipped world's No. 4 player Stan Wawrinka 6-2, 6-1 in the quarterfinals of the Shanghai Masters. Nadal had only Jo-Wilfried Tsonga standing between him and the finals against either No. 1 Novak Djokovic or No. 3 Andy Murray.
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The win was as emotionally significant as it was a display of dominance for the Spaniard. Wawrinka's four-set win over an ailing Rafa in the finals of the 2014 Australian Open was the start of a downward spiral for Nadal, who sustained a back injury that sent him into a tailspin and that has been approaching two years.
"Being in the semifinals is a great result for me," Nadal told Atpworldtour.com. "I hadn't played the semifinals on hard court all year and now I am playing two weeks in a row in the final rounds. That's a big improvement for me. In terms of confidence, in terms of level of tennis, I am playing better. Very happy for that because I am working so hard."
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Rafa reached the finals of the China Open last week, losing to Novak Djokovic.
Nadal, the No. 7 player in the world, has had a subpar 2015 by his standards, winning just 52 of 68 matches this year.
After Nadal's five-set loss to Fabio Fognini in the third round of the U.S. Open, he took time off to recoup mentally and declared himself anxiety-free at the end of September.
"Now I feel much better. Not 100 percent fit, but much better," Nadal said in an interview with Sky Sports. "Close to being 100 percent fit and I am enjoying it again. I'm enjoying being on the tennis court, enjoying practicing and enjoying the competition because I don't have it [the anxiety] anymore."
He proved it by preventing hard-serving Ivo Karlovic from serving out the first set of their second-round match when he hit three return winners on first serves to get the break and ultimately a three-set win.
Nadal then took out No. 9 Milos Raonic in straight sets in the third round before bouncing Wawrinka.
The Spaniard is trying to qualify for the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals. The perfect setting to announce his return alongside the men's tennis elite in 2016.
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