Rafael Nadal vs. Mardy Fish in Cincinnati Masters

Rafael Nadal looks to continue his winning record against Mardy Fish when they meet in the Cincinnati Masters quarter-finals.

Nadal was involved in one of the best matches all summer on Thursday afternoon, an epic four hour contest with Fernando Verdasco which went right down to the wire. Nadal found himself a break down in the final set but hit back and the two ended up in a decisive tiebreak. Nadal appeared to be cruising to victory at 5-2 up but Verdasco recovered and saved four match points before eventually going down 7-6(5), 6-7(4), 7-6(9). Quality wise, Nadal was far from his best, making 47 unforced errors and he will need to do better than that against the in-form Fish who leads the US Open series standings.

The American has never beaten Nadal in six matches, losing their Wimbledon quarter-final this year in four sets but he will be buoyed by his recent form and his record in Cincinnati (he made the final last year and back in 2003).

"If you want to play someone like Rafa, you hope that he plays a match that's four hours long before you play him," Fish said laughing. "That's as physical as it gets. It's hot out there, so I'm sure he'll be pretty tired. He's a human being. It's a great opportunity for me. I've never beaten him before. This is probably a surface that I would choose to play him on if I were to pick: something hot, something quick."