Nadal into fifth Miami Open final

Rafael Nadal was so eager to reach the Miami Open final that he lost his shoe chasing down a ball.

Chasing a shot in the second set of Friday’s semifinal against unseeded Fabio Fognini, Nadal lost his right show – and the point.

But the Spaniard quickly regained his footing in a routine 6-1 7-5 victory.

Fifth-seed Nadal set the stage for a possible third meeting of 2017 with longtime rival Roger Federer, who faces Australian young gun Nick Kyrgios in the day’s second semi-final.

Nadal is still searching for a breakthrough Miami trophy after being a losing finalist at Key Biscayne in 2005, 2008, 2011 and 2014.

He is playing in the tournament for the 13th time, making it his longest title drought at any event.

“For me the most important thing is to be in the final,” Nadal told the crowd. “That’s great news for me.”

Nadal, a 14-time Grand Slam champion, played down the importance of having so much big-match experience in Miami.

“I don’t think that’s going to affect in terms of helping me to win or helping me to lose.

“That’s a long time ago.

“Last final was in 2011 … it’s no more pressure for me to play here the final than playing in Monte-Carlo or playing in Indian Wells.

“Winning here would be something great, an important title that I didn’t win.

“But winning or losing, being honest, [it’s] not going to change my career.”

Nadal eliminated Fognini without facing a break point, and lost only nine of 46 points on his serve.

Fognini, the first unseeded men’s semi-finalist since 2007, looked listless at the start in 30-degree sunshine. He finished with 38 unforced errors, compared with 12 for Nadal.

The crowd chanted Fognini’s first name in an attempt to get the Italian going, and flying footwear did the job. Fognini hit a drop shot to cause the sneaker malfunction, laughed at length while Nadal retied his shoe and played better after that.

The second set was up for grabs until Fognini double-faulted to fall behind 6-5. Nadal then served out the match at love.

Nadal improved to 19-4 this year and leads the men’s tour in wins. He is chasing his 70th career title in Miami.