Sunday, January 29, 2017

Rafael Nadal's focus not on Roger Federer just yet at Australian Open

Rafa Nadal (right) could face Roger Federer in the Australian Open final
Rafa Nadal (right) could face Roger Federer in the Australian Open final

Rafael Nadal is preferring to focus on his semi-final with Grigor Dimitrov rather than contemplating a ninth Grand Slam final showdown with Roger Federer.

The 14-time Grand Slam champion was too powerful for injury-hit world No 3 Milos Raonic as he marched into the last four on Wednesday.

The Spanish superstar will play Grigor Dimitrov in Friday's semi-final and has the advantage in meetings over the Bulgaria's 15th seed, leading 7-1.

VOTE: Aussie Open men's winner

Vote for the men's winner of the Australian Open

Nadal paid tribute to the Swiss legend for his amazing run at this year's tournament in Melbourne, but rules out looking too far ahead.

"Let me enjoy today, the victory, being in semi-final. For me is great news again. It's a good start of the season," he said. "Now I have a very tough match against Dimitrov.

"Whatever happens on the other side of the draw, I think it is great for tennis that Roger is there again after an injury, after a lot of people talked that probably he would never be back.

"The real thing is that he's back and he's probably ready to win again, fighting again to win a major.

"That's good for the fans because Roger is a legend of our sport. I am happy to be there, too. I am focused on my semi-final."

It was another accomplished performance from the 30-year-old Spaniard who reached his first Grand Slam semi-final since he won the 2014 French Open.

"Great. It's good news. Especially winning against difficult players: [Gael] Monfils in quarter-finals, [Alexander] Zverev round of 16 and now Raonic," Nadal said.

"All of them are top players. So that's very important for me because that means that I am competitive and playing well. I'm so just excited about being back in final rounds of the most important events."

Check previews, reports and our live blogs from the men's semi-finals of the Australian Open by following us on skysports.com/tennis, our app for mobile devices and iPad or our Twitter account @skysportstennis.

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