Djokovic, Nadal Into Miami Semi's

Rafael Nadal's hard-fought three set victory over big-serving Canadian Milos Raonic completed Friday's semi-final line-up at the 2014 Sony Open in Miami.

Victory for the world number one means he will face seventh seed Tomas Berdych whilst the other semi-final sees Novak Djokovic do battle with rising star Kei Nishikori.

Nadal advanced to the semi-final with a narrow 4-6 6-2 6-4 victory over Milos Raonic as he seeks to claim his first Miami Masters title. The Spaniard has reached the final three times but is yet to win the title.

His opponent Berdych is also a beaten finalist in Miami, succumbing to the now-retired Andy Roddick in 2010. The Czech has not beaten Nadal in any of his last seventeen attempts but will take solace knowing that the man he beat in the quarter-finals, Alexandr Dolgopolov, beat Nadal in Indian Wells earlier this month.

On the other side of the draw Kei Nishikori provided the upset of the quarter-finals, toppling a resurgent Roger Federer 3-6 7-5 6-4. The tenacious twentieth seed won his second consecutive match over Federer after also beating him last year in Madrid.

Nishikori will face Novak Djokovic after the Serb controversially defeated defending Miami champion Andy Murray. The two former champions were battling toe-to-toe until a controversial net infringement was missed by the umpire, causing a slip in concentration from Murray and ultimately a 7-5 6-3 loss.

Elsewhere in the women's side of the draw, the tournament final will conform with seedings as the top two seeds Serena Williams and Li Na will meet for the first time this year.

Serena Williams continued her decade-long unbeaten run against Maria Sharapova in the semi-finals, toppling her 6-4 6-3 for her fifteenth consecutive victory against the Russian.

Li Na met with Dominika Cibulkova for the third time already this year as she reached her first ever final in Miami after claiming a 7-5 2-6 6-3 victory, extending her unbeaten run over the veteran.

The pair will meet in Saturday's final as Na seeks to claim her first victory over the dominant American since her walkover in Rome 2012, whilst Williams will be looking to win her seventh Miami title.

Published on SEaT Capital.

Dimitrov and Delbonis Rise To Career Highs

Victories in Mexico and Brazil respectively have seen both Grigor Dimitrov and Federico Delbonis rise to new career high rankings this week.

Dimitrov, dubbed 'Baby Fed' due to his similarities to Roger Federer, claimed only his second ATP title, overcoming the big-serving South African Kevin Anderson 7-6(1) 3-6 7-6(5) to move up six places to a career high 16th in the World. On his way back into the top 20, Dimitrov passed his fellow finalist Kevin Anderson, who also rose to a career high 18th following his strong display in Mexico.

In Brazil, young Argentinian Federico Delbonis claimed his maiden ATP title with a 4-6 6-3 6-4 victory over the veteran Paolo Lorenzi. Delbonis upset a number of established tour players on route to the final, including Nicolas Almagro, Thomaz Bellucci and Filippo Volandri as he moves up seventeen places to 44th in the World.

Elsewhere in the men's rankings 5th to 7th are separated by just 20 points as a first round retirement meant Juan Martin Del Potro dropped two places to seventh. Both Tomas Berdych and Andy Murray climb one position to overtake him. Despite winning the Dubai title, Roger Federer remains in 8th although he now has a gap of over 1,500 points to Richard Gasguet in 9th.

James Ward claimed valuable rankings points by progressing into the Second Round of the Dubai Championships, enabling him to move up seventeen places to 160th in the World. Elsewhere it was a quiet week for the Brits, as few of the top players played and Laura Robson continues her recovery from a wrist injury sustained at the Australian Open.

The women's tour, unlike the men's, was unusually quiet as most of the top seeds chose to prepare for the upcoming Indian Wells tournament with a week of rest. The Acapulco champion Dominika Cibulkova rose to a career high 11th following her runner-up spot at this year's Australian Open. Beaten Acapulco finalist Christina McHale was this weeks big mover, rising fifteen places to 55th.

The other tournament saw a repeat of January's Hobart final, as Klara Zakopolova clashed once again with youngster Gabrine Muguruza. Muguruza won at Hobart but Zakopolova got her revenge, successfully defeating Muguruza to lift the Florianopolis title, her first WTA title since 2005. Her victory ensures she crept inside the top 30 at 29th whilst Muguruza rose four places to 32nd.

Published on SEaT Capital.