On Saturday afternoon in the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, Rafael Nadal produced a performance that was entirely typical of the No. 1 player in men’s tennis. However, don’t let the word “typical” suggest that the Mallorcan master had an easy day at the office against a determined Andy Roddick.

Nadal ultimately prevailed in Saturday’s second semifinal, but not by a considerable margin. Nadal’s 6-4, 7-6 (4) victory, attained only after 1 hour and 50 minutes of baseline slugging, was the fruit of the untiring effort that has carried the Spaniard to the top of his sport. The seventh-seeded Roddick put up a good fight, but Nadal–as is so often the case these days–took a bunch of punches and outpointed his opponent on the scorecard.

Nadal and Roddick contested 141 points in this close encounter, with the top seed taking 73 points and losing 68. It’s true that tennis matches aren’t decided by aggregate points, but the overall totals from this confrontation indicate that Roddick competed with the world No. 1 on very even terms. Nadal won only because he claimed all the points he had to have.

On a day when Roddick hit 68 percent of his first serves and crushed a 137- mile-per-hour ace, Nadal faced a difficult challenge as a returner. Yet, the 22-year-old found a way to pick his spots and break Roddick three times.

Nadal’s first break felt a lot like his telling break of Roger Federer in the first set of this year’s Australian Open final. In the first point of the seventh game, Roddick–serving at 3-all–ran Nadal around the court and hit a volley to the ad side. Nadal, seemingly out of the point, made one of his lunging stab forehand passes that rocketed down the line and hit just inside the sideline, about one foot from the baseline. The remarkable down-the-line winner is exactly the kind of shot Nadal so regularly uses to demoralize opponents.

On the very next point, Roddick again dictated play, only to have Nadal hit yet another wicked topspin passing shot from a slightly more comfortable position. Roddick was in a winning position against 99 percent of the ATP Tour, but not against Nadal, who promptly broke for a 4-3 lead and easily held serve from there to close out the first set.

In the second set, with Roddick serving at 1-all, Nadal broke the American again with superb shotmaking. In the 15-30 point of that game, Nadal retrieved a high-quality drop shot from Roddick, and then won a “duel at 10 paces” exchange at net. Whenever Nadal and Roddick were both drawn to the net, the Spaniard–despite his preference for the baseline–showed better touch and reflexes than the 26-year-old American, whose serve-based style should lead to better net play… but doesn’t.

He excels from the backcourt, but he can win at the net. His groundstrokes are weapons, but they can also be used from nearly impossible defensive positions. One way or another, Rafael Nadal–even in the face of opponents who play really well–manages to dig out wins and advance in tournaments. With one more victory in tomorrow’s final against No. 4 Andy Murray, Nadal will own his second Indian Wells title in the past three years.

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