Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic remained on track for a dream semi-final match-up with hard-fought victories at the Rome Masters on Thursday.
World No. 1 Federer defeated giant Croatian Ivo Karlovic 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 in his third round clash, while Djokovic overcame Russian Igor Andreev 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals.
Federer managed to fashion six break points against the 2.09m Karlovic in the first set, but each one was saved by booming serves. Yet in the first set tie-break Federer made the breakthrough at 5-4 with a brilliant forehand return pass before a netted backhand from Karlovic handed him the set. In the second set an increasingly dejected Karlovic’s serve was not so potent and Federer twice earned 40-0 leads to break twice.
PHOTO: AFP
Federer was pleased to have overcome this large hurdle.
“It’s difficult to judge against Ivo, he has an unbelievable serve, the best in the game,” Federer said. “You don’t play much on the baseline and you’re always under pressure, but I’m playing well and feeling good.”
Federer faces Czech Radek Stepanek next after he ousted Peruvian qualifier Luis Horna in three sets 6-4, 1-6, 6-3.
Australian Open champion Djokovic survived a marathon battle against Andreev, winning 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 in 2 hours, 42 minutes and the Serbian third seed will now face Spaniard Nicolas Almagro.
Almagro received a bye after Chilean 12th seed Fernando Gonzalez pulled out of the tournament with a leg injury.
Djokovic did not have things entirely his own way under the Italian sun, quite unlike the stroll he enjoyed in Wednesday’s second round against Belgian Steve Barcis. He took the first set but was broken early in the second and struggled to hold his own serve as his form deserted him. But Djokovic, who leads the Champions race after his first Grand Slam success at the beginning of the year, found something extra in the decider and scraped through.
Andreev’s biggest problem was his failure to take break point chances. He managed to convert only two of 11 opportunities compared to Djokovic’s three from five.
Djokovic acknowledged he had found it tough against the Russian.
“He plays his best tennis on clay so I’m very happy,” the Serb said.
Djokovic and Federer are still scheduled to meet in the semi-finals, but the third seed did not want to look that far ahead.
“I don’t know, Almagro is a good player. I’ve played one more match than him, but physically I hope to recover for tomorrow,” he said.
It was a good day for American pair James Blake and Andy Roddick who both progressed to the quarter-finals and could yet meet in the semis.
Blake had a tough start against young Spaniard Fernando Verdasco, dropping the first set 7-5, but the eighth seed rallied and took the next by the same score before romping away with the decider 6-2.
Roddick broke the hearts of home fans as he ousted the last remaining Italian from the draw.
Simone Bolelli started well and broke early in the match, but the sixth seed broke back soon afterward and the first set went to a tie-break, with a Bolelli error handing Roddick the set 7-5. The second was not so close and he took it 6-3.
He said the idea of two Americans getting into the latter stages should not be too much of a surprise.
“I guess we landed on the moon, so we can figure out how to get to the quarter-finals of a clay court tournament,” he said.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
Playing soccer and competing for trophies is the best way that many transplanted Hong Kongers and Macanese have found to stay in touch, and to interact with Taiwanese society, said officials at the Taiwan-Hong Kong-Macau Football Friendship Cup, which was held on April 13. Twelve clubs, mostly of players and coaches originally from Hong Kong and Macau, took part in the tournament in New Taipei City. The event is sponsored by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) and the Taiwan-Hong Kong Economic and Cultural Co-operation Council. Participating teams were from the wider Taipei area, Hsinchu, Taichung, Kaohsiung and other areas. They divided into two