Saturday’s men’s semis have an undercard, and they have a main event. This is the undercard. Raonic and Goffin have won a total of 10 career titles between them, while the two men in the second semi, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, have won 128. This is also relatively new territory for these two 25-year-olds: The 14th-ranked Raonic has been to two other Masters finals, both of which he lost, while the 18th-ranked Goffin is looking to reach his first. While the Canadian is the more accomplished player, the Belgian won their only completed match, in three sets in Basel in 2014. Each has obviously been in form this week: Raonic has returned from a month away to knock off Tomas Berdych and Gael Monfils, while Goffin did the same to Stan Wawrinka and Marin Cilic. The slower courts could favor the more consistent Goffin, but Raonic seems to have picked up where he left off in Australia.
Winner: Raonic
On the one hand, this is the latest chapter in a storied and razor-close rivalry; Djokovic and Nadal have met 47 times, with the Serb winning 24 and the Spaniard 23. On the other hand, judging by their recent matches, it has all the makings of a blowout. Since losing to Nadal at the 2014 French Open, Djokovic has won all five of their matches, and all 11 sets, the last eight of which have gone 6-3, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2, 6-3, 6-3, 6-1, 6-2. By now, Nadal’s game does little more than allow Djokovic to play his very best tennis. Could it be any different on Saturday? I think this match will be more competitive than the last three. Nadal made progress in his last round with a Top 10 win over Kei Nishikori; instead of folding at the crucial moment, he put some bite on his serve and some stick on his forehand. Then, Djokovic came out and struggled through a grinding, two-tiebreaker win over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. If you're Rafa, there's only one problem: Djokovic isn’t Nishikori.
Winner: Djokovic