World No. 1 and top seed Rafael Nadal reached the semifinal of the China Open after beating sixth seed John Isner, 6-4, 7-6(0), Friday. Nadal, who won the tournament in 2005, improve to 23-5 in this event after beating Isner by breaking his serve at 5-4 in the first set before sweeping through the tie-break in the second set. With the win, Nadal improved his record to an ATP World Tour-best 59-9 in 2017 as he aims for a 75th tour-level crown.

“I think I played a solid match,” said Nadal, who is also bidding to become the year-end No. 1 for the fourth time.

He was finished the year No. 1 in 2008, 2010 and 2013. For a spot in the finals, Nadal will play good friend Grigor Dimitrov in the semifinals. While he is 8-1 against Dimitrov in their head-to-head showdown, Nadal expects a tough match against the Bulgarian. Dimitrov reached the semifinal via a 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-2 triumph over fifth seed Roberto Bautista Agut in two hours and 29 minutes. The win earned Dimitrov additional 90 points but he remains in fifth spot, 440 points behind Austrian Dominic Thiem (3,715).

Zverev qualifies for Nitto ATP Finals

Alexander Zverev qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals, to be held 12-19 November at The O2 in London, after beating Andrey Rublev, 6-2, 6-3, in their quarterfinal clash in Beijing.

The 20-year-old German broke Rublev four times en route to victory in just 70 minutes, improving his record against the Russian to 2-0. Zverev also defeated Rublev last year in Monte Carlo.

With the victory, Zverev sealed a semifinal clash with Nick Kyrgios, who advanced to the semifinals after Steve Darcis retired while trailing, 6-0, 3-0, in their quarterfinal clash.

The 22-year-old Kyrgios leads Zverev, 2-1, in their head-to-head clash but the latter prevailed in their latest clash in Montreal in August. Zverev is currently tied with Nadal and Roger Federer with five titles each in 2017 while Kyrgios will be playing in his fourth semifinal this season

Goffin reaches Japan Open semifinals

Fourth seed David Goffin defeated 2007 finalist Richard Gasquet in straight sets to make to the finals of the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships 2017.

Goffin needed one hour and 38 minutes to dismiss Gasquet and arrange a semifinal clash with eighth seed Diego Schwartzman. Goffin is trying to climb the Emirates ATP Race To London ranking to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals. From No. 13, Goffin has risen to No. 11 in the rankings, just 15 points from 10th placer Sam Querrey, who holds the last and final qualification spot for the season finale. Schwartzman, for his part, defeated Steve Johnson in straight sets in one hour and 33 minutes to advance to the last four.
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