Fighting for the crown

Rafa is again in Mutua Madrid Open final after he defeated Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain in straight sets: 6-4, 6-3.

After the semifinal, Rafa said: "It was an important victory for me. After a great match yesterday, I have the confirmation today that the improvement is real. It's very good news for me. I think for moments I played great tennis against an opponent that is playing really well and improving a lot. "

"He's a really dangerous opponent today. He's had great victories this year. So it is an important win for me. To be in a final here in a difficult tournament at home after losing in the quarter-finals for two weeks in a row means a lot to me. So I'm very happy."

"Psychologically, in Monte-Carlo and Barcelona, whenever I had difficult moments, I was not ready and I was a little bit down. Here, I managed to be ready straightaway. For example, in the second set I had a ball to go up 5-0 and he played well and then I committed an error at deuce when it was 4-1. At 4-3, I responded again. I managed to serve well and play a good passing shot and to break again. "

"All of those symptoms are symptoms that I am mentally more stable and more confident that things are going to go well. This is great news in order to go out and play tomorrow's match, but also for what may come in the future."

Ra In the last act, Rafa will play against Kei Nishikori of Japan. On head to head, Rafa leads Nishikori: 6-0. Their last match was this year at Australian Open, when Rafa won in straight sets: 7-6, 7-5, 7-6.

VAMOS RAFA !!!