Canada Open: Rafael Nadal Advances To Semi-finals, Rally Back To Beat Fabio Fognini

Rafael Nadal was put to the test by Fabio Fognini and survived an opener scared from the Italian whom he eventually ousted to progress to the semi-finals of the Coupe Rogers.

The four-time champion, Nadal, shrugged off losing the opener to his opponent and rallied back after the Italian double-faulted for him to have an early break in the second and continued in that momentum through the match and won in three sets, 2-6, 6-1, 6-2.

Fognini capitalized on the Spaniard's unforced errors in the opener and took an early 2-1 break and rode on winning four straight games and struck a backhand winner to wrapped up the set.

"I lost 6-2 with the feeling I was not playing bad, no negative feelings on the ball," Nadal recalled losing the first set. "I [was] playing probably a little bit better than him, but then the score was against me."

Nadal is vying for his first time in Montreal since 2013 and his third of the season, having won the Italian and French Open. He will meet in his next match the winner between Frenchman Gael Monfils and Roberto Bautista-Agut.