Nadal comes back against Carreno-Busta to reach the Paris Masters semifinal

Nadal came back against Carreno-Busta in a spectacular match where he lost the opening set but ultimately prevailed to reach the Paris Masters semifinal.

A very interesting matchup between Nadal and Carreno-Busta was the 3rd quarterfinal at the Paris Master. Nadal had to fight hard in order to beat Pablo 4-6 7-5 6-1 in a match that lasted well over two hours. The opening set was opened better by Carreno-Busta who earned his first break point early in the 3rd game.

Even though Nadal saved it there were subtle hints that this would be a very tough match for him. Pablo came out aggressive and he hit the ball very well early giving Nadal a lot of troubles. On his own serve, he was exceptional attacking immediately following a strong serve. Midway through Pablo earned another break points and this time he took it as Nadal committed several sloppy errors in that game including on the break point. From there he wrapped up the first set with ease 6-4.

The first game of the 2nd set brought more trouble onto Nadal as Carreno-Busta had 0-40 but Nadal saved all three breaks points and then won the game. After that, both players settled in nicely and neither had too many issues winning their own service games. At 4-3 for Nadal, Carreno-Busta had to save two set points and he did once again frustrating Nadal visibly. The set continued and the key moment came at 6-5 for Nadal. It was a lengthy game with several deuces but Nadal carved out a break point and converted it with a signature forehand passing shot.

The final set was opened better by Nadal who looked rejuvenated after the 2nd set victory. He had break points in the 2nd game but Pablo survived. He would not survive his next game service game where Nadal won the game without dropping a single point to go up 4-1. He then added another break to close out the match 6-1. A spectacular comeback against a player who gave him a lot of trouble.