Despite a disappointing first set, Rafael Nadal is still in the running at the Sony Open in Miami.

The 27-year-old Spanish tennis star advanced to the semifinals on Thursday by hitting a flurry of forehand winners in the late stretch to beat Canada’s Milos Raonic 4-6, 6-2, 6-4.

The No. 1-ranked player in the world, who is 0-3 in the Key Biscayne tournament finals, needs one more win to get there again.

His opponent Friday night will be No. 7-seeded Tomas Berdych, who advanced by beating No. 22 Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-4, 7-6 (3).

Nadal has beaten Berdych 16 times in a row over the past seven years.

“This tournament is a tournament where I really feel the love of the people so much,” Nadal said, “so I’m going to try my best to keep playing well.”

Three-time champion Novak Djokovic will play in the other semifinal Friday against No. 20-seeded Kei Nishikori, who eliminated Roger Federer on Wednesday.