ATP Tokyo: Rafael Nadal vs. Mardy Fish

Rafael Nadal plays Mardy Fish in the semis of the Japan Open on Saturday morning.

Nadal will be looking to get revenge over Fish for his defeat in the Cincinnati Masters semi-finals a couple of months ago. Nadal lost to the American for the first time in seven matches and he'll need to up his level from his quarter-final performance.

Nadal did enough to get past Santiago Giraldo 7-6(6), 6-3 but it was a far from vintage performance from the defending champion.

"It was a tough match, he played well and aggressive," Nadal said. "It was a positive victory, straight sets. It was very windy outside, but on the court it wasn't bad. Conditions were okay. To reach the semi-finals without losing a set is good. Physically I am fine, no problems. The end of the season is important, I am motivated to become a better player and work hard every day."

It's been a remarkable season for Fish who is competing in his eighth tour semi-final of the year. He battled past Bernard Tomic 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-1. "It was very tough. He is a young player and his game presents a lot of awkward moments," Fish said afterwards. "He doesn't exactly play like normal players play. He is going to be good for a long time. I just had to try and hang in there in the second set and take any opportunity I had."

"Mardy Fish is playing fantastic this year," Nadal commented, looking ahead to the semi-final. "I lost to him last time in Cincinnati [at the Western & Southern Open], so it will be a big challenge for me tomorrow. I will need to be more aggressive than I played today."