Rafael Nadal Cruises Past Jack Sock into 2017 Miami Open Semifinals

Rafael Nadal ended Jack Sock's run at the 2017 Miami Open on Wednesday, dispatching of the 13th-seeded American with a 6-2, 6-3 victory in Key Biscayne, Florida.

Nadal, a No. 5 seed in the event, needed just one hour and 23 minutes in a relatively breezy win. He converted on four of his five break-point opportunities and was only broken himself once despite Sock having seven opportunities.

Sock spent most of the match struggling to get his first serve in play. He converted first serves at only a 56 percent rate and won less than half of his second-serve points, setting Nadal up for break chances. This GIF pretty much summed up how the match went:

Nadal hit 69 percent of his first serves in play and won points on 71 percent. Other than one double-fault, the Spaniard played a solid, controlled match. His ability to save on breaks, particularly in the first set, prevented this from becoming a close match.

Still looking for his first win in 2017, Nadal will face unseeded Fabio Fognini in the semifinals. Fognini took care of second-seeded Kei Nishikori in straight sets earlier Wednesday. Nadal has a 7-3 record against Fognini, including wins in their last two head-to-head matchups.

"I am feeling really good on the court and other times, so this is the best thing that we can have this week. It's like a dream, maybe," Fognini said, per Bill Van Smith of the Miami Herald. "I will try to do my best, and then if it's dreaming come true I'm here."

A match with Fognini could be the only thing preventing a collision course between Nadal and Roger Federer. The No. 4 seed will have his quarterfinal match with Tomas Berdych on Thursday. If he continues to move through his side of the bracket, he would be set up to face Nadal.

It would be the first time they have met in a tournament final since Federer unseated Nadal in the Australian Open final this January.

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Post-Match Reaction

Nadal spoke of Fognini, per the AP (via Tennis.com): "He's playing well. It will be a good test for me. I'm happy to be in the semifinals. I'll have to play my best and play aggressive like I did today."

He also discussed winning big points versus Sock, per Greg Garber of ESPN.com: That's something, playing against top players, that makes the difference. I was able to win the important points."