Top 5 Photos, 11/6: Nadal battles from behind in Paris

The semifinals at set at the final ATP Masters 1000 of the year, in Paris. Rafael Nadal upped his game to avoid an upset at the hard-court event, while Daniil Medvedev needed just 62 minutes to advance.

These are the Top 5 photos from Friday.

1

Rafael Nadal

For the second time this week, Nadal dropped the opening set, but he fought back to come out on top. The world No. 2 edged past countryman Pablo Carreno Busta, 4-6, 7-5, 6-1, to reach the last four in France. The 20-time Grand Slam winner has now reached the semifinal round in nine of his last 10 ATP Masters 1000 events.

Nadal fell only to Diego Schwartzman in the quarterfinals of Rome in his first tournament back after the shutdown.

2

Milos Raonic

The Canadian erased two match points, one of which included a 30-ball rally, to beat Ugo Humbert 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7) on Friday. In the two-hour and 17 minute affair, the No. 10 seed fired off 25 aces and won 75 percent of his service points to take down the Humbert on his home turf. Raonic will face Daniil Medvedev next.

3

Daniil Medvedev

“I think Diego is capable of playing better so didn’t show his best tennis,” Medvedev said in his post match presser.

The 24-year-old was simply untouchable against Schwartzman on Friday. Medvedev claimed 27 of 28 first serve points and solidified a 6-3, 6-1 score with an ace down the tee. The Russian already has claimed his spot in the upcoming ATP Finals in London, which will commence later this month.

4

Diego Schwartzman

The Argentine had been playing really focused and impressive tennis this week in Paris, yet he faltered on Friday. The loss didn't cost him the last ATP Finals spot. Since Nadal managed to prevail against Carreno Busta, that guaranteed the Argentinian a spot in the eight-player event in London.

5

Alexander Zverev

Winning the last 11 of 13 points to end the first set, Zverev was on cruise control. Things got a little trickier in the second set, and Stan Wawrinka would ultimately push the world No. 7 to a tiebreaker. From there, Zverev would finish the job with ease, taking the match 6-3, 7-6 (1).

The 23-year-old will take on Nadal in Saturday's semifinal. Zverev trails 5-1 in their head-to-head matchups, but did win against the Spaniard in their last meeting at the 2019 ATP Finals.