Beating Nadal is no easy task.  He can come back from a grinding match like he did against Verdacso and come back fresh as a daisy the following day.

Mardy Fish, who is having his best summer ever, wasn’t about to believe that Nadal was going to roll over.  As he headed out onto court, he was asked what he learned from his match against Nadal at Wimbledon.  Fish replied that he wasn’t as far off from beating Nadal as he once thought.  His improved confidence and mobility have shored up old weaknesses where a player that could move the ball around would often get Fish at a disadvantage.

Fish’s strategy was simple.  Stay aggressive.  Hit hard returns.  Rely on the big serve.  Get to net when possible.

The match may have turned on the very first game where Fish started the serve.  Down double-break point, he clawed back to win that game, and eventually get a break lead, which he rode to the first set.  Nadal, for his part, was looking a bit fresher than he did in yesterday’s match, but the stats told an interesting story.  Nadal wasn’t being particularly aggressive, and his second serve was not so aggressive that it couldn’t be attacked.

In the middle of the second set, Nadal was having a rather lengthy discussion with Mohamed Lahyani who has become the chair umpire.  Lahyani’s talents apparently extends to multi-lingual abilities as he talked to Nadal in Spanish.

Nevertheless, Fish stayed focused, played aggressive shots, and Nadal seemed a bit unhappy.  Fish was able to secure the break.  While Nadal had some chances, Fish kept believing in his shots.  And so, on match point, when Nadal came to net with an approach down-the-line, Fish retrieved back then hit a crosscourt that landed deep for the match.

The stats would say that Fish hit some 30 winners to Nadal’s 10.  He got a lot of close balls that went his way, such as a clipped crosscourt forehand late in the match that landed in which Nadal sliced wide.

Fish will play Andy Murray next in the semis, and clinches the US Open Series even if Djokovic wins Cincy.

Up next, Federer plays Tomas Berdych.