A highly anticipated quarter-final clash on Wednesday at the Miami Open presented by Itau ended up being a dominant performance for fifth seed Rafael Nadal, who ended the inspired run of 13^th seed Jack Sock 6-2, 6-3.

“I think I was under control during the whole first set. In the second set, it was so important to save that game at 0-2, 15/40, and then get the break back in the next game,” said Nadal. “It was two positive things in two straight games that probably created a lot of damage to him.”

Seeking his first title in Miami after finishing runner-up here on four occasions, Nadal will now play Fabio Fognini for a place in Sunday’s final. He leads his FedEx ATP Head2Head with the Italian 7-3, but the pair has split their past six matches. Their previous encounter in Miami was a one-sided affair, with Nadal recording a swift 6-2, 6-2 win in their 2014 fourth-round clash.

“I know him very well and he knows me very well. We played a few times and he’s beaten me a couple of times, too. It’s a tough match,” said Nadal. “He’s playing well, so it will be a good challenge. I need to play my best, keep playing aggressively like I did today and hope to have my chances.”

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Nadal opened the match by immediately breaking Sock in the American’s first service game and racing to a 3-0 lead. Maintaining control of the baseline rallies, he continued to keep Sock off balance and grabbed a second break at 5-2 to take the opening set. 

But Sock refused to go away quietly. Hitting his forehand with great authority, he broke Nadal to start the second set. The 13th seed had game points to grab a double break at 2-0, but the Spaniard managed to hold serve and then quickly regained momentum. Nadal leveled the match at 2-2 and a double fault from Sock on break point two games later gave the fifth seed a commanding advantage. He closed out the match on serve at the first attempt to wrap up the victory in one hour and 23 minutes. Nadal improves his FedEx ATP Head2Head against Sock to 3-0.

Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan remain in the hunt for a fifth Miami Open presented by Itau title following a dramatic 6-7(4), 6-4, 11-9 win over Croatians Marin Cilic and Nikola Mektic in the quarter-finals on Wednesday.

The veteran brothers, who face countrymen Nicholas Monroe and Jack Sock in the semi-finals, can return to No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings by lifting the trophy this weekend, otherwise Finland’s Henri Kontinen will claim top position.

Cilic/Mektic looked comfortable on serve to lead 5-2, however the Bryan Brothers managed to force a first-set tie-break. The Croatian duo combined well at the net to edge ahead, before Cilic’s retrieval skills earned a commanding set-and-a-break lead.

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A backhand return winner from Bob Bryan was the catalyst for an immediate break back for 3-3. Then leading at 5-4, Mike Bryan latched onto a difficult smash to secure the break and set on deciding point on Mektic’s serve. The Californian twins used their momentum to move 6/2 in front in the Match Tie-break, and despite Cilic/Mektic erasing that advantage, an ace from Mike Bryan found the line to confirm victory on their second match point.

Earlier on Wednesday Brian Baker and Daniel Nestor booked their semi-final spot with a 6-3, 5-7, 10-3 triumph over Philipp Petzschner and Alexander Peya. The American-Canadian duo will meet sixth seeds Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo, who also clinched victory on a Match Tie-break with a fighting 2-6, 6-3, 10-8 win against fourth seeds Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares.

View FedEx ATP Head2Head for the following match-ups & vote for the players you think will win! 
Federer vs Berdych  |  Kyrgios vs Zverev

View Thursday’s schedule.

DAY 9 PREVIEW: The remaining two quarter-finals in the Miami Open, presented by Itau, on Thursday feature a rivalry that has been going on for 14 years while the other is the rivalry of the future between two young stars on the ATP World Tour. No. 4 seed and 2005-06 Miami champion Roger Federer brings a 17-6 head-to-head record against No. 10 seed Tomas Berdych while No. 12 seed Nick Kyrgios meets No. 16 seed Alexander Zverev for the second straight tournament. Kyrgios won the first meeting 63 64 in the 3R at ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells on March 14.

The first match on features two players who have not dropped a set in the tournament, as Federer looks to extend his six-match winning streak against Berdych, who last defeated the Swiss superstar in the semi-finals of 2013 Dubai. During the streak, Federer has won the last 14 sets. They extended their rivalry to a 14th consecutive year in January when Federer won in straight sets in the 3R at the Australian Open. In their previous Miami meeting in the 4R in 2010, Berdych prevailed 64 67 76 and went on to reach the final (l. to Roddick). Federer comes into his 10th Miami quarter-final on an eight-match winning streak (16-0 in sets) and overall he is 16-1 on the season. Berdych is making his fifth straight quarter-final appearance in Miami and eighth overall in 13 years. The 31-year-old Czech Republic native leads the tournament in service games won (29 of 30, 97%) while Federer has held 30 of 33 service games (91%).

In the night session quarter-final, Kyrgios tries to reach his second straight semi-final in Miami against Zverev, who is making his Masters 1000 quarter-final debut. This is the youngest QF, SF or F match in an Masters 1000 tournament between Kyrgios (21) and Zverev (19) since 2008 Cincinnati where Novak Djokovic (21) beat Ernests Gulbis (19) in the quarter-finals. Zverev, who will turn 20 on April 20, is the first teenager and youngest player to reach the quarter-finals in Miami since Djokovic and Andy Murray, who were both 19 in 2007. Djokovic won the title and Murray reached the semi-finals that year. Zverev has rallied the past two matches, saving three match points in his three tie-break sets win over John Isner in the 3R and coming back to beat top seed/World No. 3 Stan Wawrinka 46 62 61 in the 4R. Kyrgios has dropped one set so far, in his 3R final set TB win over No. 17 seed Ivo Karlovic. He followed with a 76 63 win over No. 8 seed  and last year’s semi-finalist David Goffin.  

NO. 1 DOUBLES RANKING UPDATE: The No. 1 position in the Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings will change hands next Monday with Henri Kontinen of Finland or Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan taking  over from Nicolas Mahut. The Bryans will take over No. 1 from Mahut, who has held No. 1 every week since July 11, 2016, if they win the title. Mahut won last year’s Miami title with Pierre-Hugues Herbert but they withdrew from their 2R match due to Herbert’s leg injury. Kontinen, who lost in the 2R (w/Peers), will become the first Finnish player to rank No. 1 unless the Bryan brothers win their fifth Miami title (2007-08, 2014-15). They play in the semi-finals on Thursday vs. Monroe/Sock.