Brisbane International 2017: Friday Tennis Scores, Results and Updated Schedule

Top seed Milos Raonic recovered from a set down to beat Rafael Nadal 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in their Brisbane International quarter-final clash on Friday. 

Nadal was the stronger man early on, although Raonic settled into a superb rhythm on his serve to take the game away from his opponent. The Canadian will face Grigor Dimitrov in the last four after the Bulgarian got the better of Dominic Thiem.

The second semi-final will be an entertaining one, too, with second seed Stan Wawrinka to face third seed Kei Nishikori.

In the women’s draw, there was disappointment for Garbine Muguruza, as the fourth seed retired from her match with Alize Cornet. The Frenchwoman's opponent in the final will be Karolina Pliskova, as she overcame Elina Svitolina in straight sets in the second semi-final.

Here are the results from Friday's matches and a look back at another absorbing day in Brisbane as the competition moves towards a thrilling conclusion.

Men's Singles	Score
Women's Singles	Score
(1) Milos Raonic bt. (5) Rafael Nadal	4-6, 6-3, 6-4
(2) Stanislas Wawrinka bt. Kyle Edmund	6-7 (2), 6-4, 6-4
(3) Kei Nishikori bt. Jordan Thompson	6-1, 6-1
(7) Grigor Dimitrov bt. (4) Dominic Thiem	6-3, 4-6, 6-3
(3) Karolina Pliskova bt. (6) Elina Svitolina	6-2, 6-4
Alize Cornet bt. (4) Garbine Muguruza	4-1 (Ret)

Pat Rafter Arena
Thanasi Kokkinakis & Jordan Thompson	vs.	Daniel Nestor & Edouard Roger-Vasselin
(3) Kei Nishikori	vs.	(2) Stan Wawrinka
(1) Milos Raonic	vs.	(7) Grigor Dimitrov
(3) Karolina Pliskova	vs.	Alize Cornet
(1) Bethanie Mattek-Sands & Sania Mirza	vs.	(2) Ekaterina Makarova & Elena Vesnina

Provisional order of play courtesy of competition website

Friday Recap

Nadal started this marquee match with a swagger, putting Raonic under pressure and grabbing an early break of serve against the Canadian. It was a blow that saw the Spaniard grow in confidence, and he was able to serve the set out with relative ease.

Raonic made major improvements as a player in 2016, most notably in terms of his mental strength, and that was on show as he launched his comeback.

Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

After saving two break points at 2-2 in the second set, Raonic pushed on, breaking Nadal's serve to move 5-3 ahead and then using his exceptional ability with the ball in hand to level the match. By now, the world No. 3 had wrestled back momentum in the match.

The decider followed a similar tone, as Nadal struggled to find a foothold on his opponent’s serve. Per Live Tennis, there was some excellent power play on show from the top seed:

"

Hold to love from #Raonic. Big, booming and accurate serving from the Canadian.

Nothing Rafa can do about that.

Raonic is one game away... pic.twitter.com/OXg0YFuwE0

— Live Tennis (@livetennis) January 6, 2017"

In a position to serve for the match, there was little doubt about the outcome, as Raonic clinched a quality contest and his place in Saturday's semi-final.

Dimitrov is the man who stands between the top seed and a final berth, as he took advantage of a profligate Thiem over three sets.

Per Jose Morgado of Record, the Austrian did not make the most of the opportunities he had over the course of the contest:

The standout performer of the day in the men's draw was Nishikori, though, as he swatted aside Jordan Thompson 6-1, 6-1 in a lopsided affair.

The home player could not get near the Japanese star and showed signs of weariness following his epic win over David Ferrer in the previous round.

Per the event's official Twitter feed, Nishikori was pleased with his display:

Physically, he is likely to have the edge over Wawrinka in their semi-final, as the Swiss had to dig deep in his match against Kyle Edmund, which lasted two hours and 36 minutes.

The U.S. Open champion was unable to pull away from the Briton in the first stanza and eventually lost it in a tiebreak.

But, as anticipated, Wawrinka upped the ante. An early break in both of the remaining sets paved the way for his recovery. Based on the standards showcased by Nishikori, though, the Swiss will have to make significant improvements if he is to make the final.

SAEED KHAN/Getty Images

In the women's draw, Muguruza could only muster five games against Cornet before throwing in the towel at 4-1 down. The French Open champion complained about a thigh issue before stopping, but the Spaniard said it is not expected to hinder her Australian Open plans. 

"No, it will not stop me," Muguruza said of her Grand Slam preparations, per AAP (h/t SBS). "I just felt a little bit exhausted on the court. I have been dealing with tiredness and issues with all these hard matches I have been playing, and today I was far from 100 per cent."

Meanwhile, Cornet was pleased to progress into the final regardless of the circumstances:

Her opponent will be Pliskova after she turned in a confident performance to overcome Svitolina in the final match of the day on Friday.

The third seed stamped her authority on the contest with a dominant performance in the first set, racing to a 6-2 advantage. And while she showcased superb form on Thursday to eliminate world No. 1 Angelique Kerber, coming back proved to be too much for Svitolina, who eventually fell to a straight-sets loss.