Rafael Nadal had to dig deep before defeating Japan's Kei Nishikori to reach the quarter-finals at Queen's Club on Thursday.
Nadal had torn Roger Federer to shreds in Paris last weekend, but Nishikori, an unseeded teenager who turned pro just a year ago, pushed the French Open champion all the way here.
The Spanish first seed eventually found enough momentum to come through 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, and now plays Croatia’s Ivo Karlovic in the last eight.
PHOTO: EPA
Nishikori, 18, had never played a singles tournament on grass before arriving at Queen’s this year and he admitted that the chance to play his idol was a dream come true.
So it would have been no disgrace if the teenager had been struck by stage-fright in the biggest match of his career, but he gave as good as he got.
A pair of fierce leaping forehands must have impressed a slugger like Nadal and the world No. 2 had to raise his game to take control of the first set.
There was an extra zip on his returns as he broke for a 4-3 lead and closed out the set.
Nishikori showed no signs of giving in and earned three break points in the second game of the second set. Nadal crushed those opportunities, but Nishikori was gaining in belief.
He kept plugging away with some powerful groundstrokes and never let Nadal settle. A beak duly arrived in the eighth game, giving him the chance to serve for the set.
It was a massive test of Nishikori’s nerve and he passed with honors to set up a final set decider.
But Nadal is a fierce competitor regardless of the occasion.
He just redoubled his efforts again and broke to go 3-1 up after sprinting across court to convert a drop shot. Finally Nadal had broken Nishikori and he was able to serve out the match.
Karlovic, the eighth seed, warmed up for his clash with Nadal by over-powering Chile’s Fernando Gonzalez in a 6-3, 7-5 win.
Lleyton Hewitt remains on course for a record fifth Queen’s title after the Australian’s 6-4, 6-4 win over Paul-Henri Mathieu, the French seventh seed.
Andy Murray played through the pain barrier to clinch a gutsy 5-7, 6-1, 6-4 victory over Ernests Gulbis.
Murray needed treatment for thumb, thigh and neck injuries as he struggled to stay on his feet on a treacherous grass-court made extra slick by rain throughout the match.
But the British No. 1 proved a point to the critics who claim he is too quick to let injuries affect him by fighting back from a set down to earn a last eight showdown with reigning champion Andy Roddick.
Roddick, like Hewitt chasing a fifth Queen’s title, got a lucky break as Mardy Fish withdrew after just one set of their match.
The reigning Queen’s champion had just taken the first set on a tie-break when Fish, who fell awkwardly while trying to make a diving volley late in the set, was forced to pull out with a foot injury.
■ GERRY WEBER OPEN
AFP, HALLE, GERMANY
World No. 1 Roger Federer again needed just over an hour to see off his opponent in straight sets at the Halle ATP tournament on Thursday to reach the quarter-finals.
Having won Wednesday’s first-round match against Germany’s Michael Berrer in just 61 minutes, the Swiss master needed only eight minutes more to seal a 7-5, 6-3 win and ease past qualifier Jan Vacek from the Czech Republic.
Federer lost Sunday’s Roland Garros final to clay-court king Rafael Nadal and traditionally plays at Halle to help him prepare for Wimbledon as he bids to win his sixth consecutive title in south-west London later this month.
Although Thursday’s win was his 56th consecutive win on grass, Federer says he is taking nothing for granted on his favorite surface.
“I learned not to underestimate anybody anymore. I made that mistake here in the 2000 quarter-final against Michael Chang. I thought I had him, but ended up losing 5-7, 2-6,” he said.
Federer revealed he has lost weight recently.
“After my injury I put on a little, so I decided to do something about that. Right now I do so much sports again so I lost some pounds — I am in good shape and feel fine, however I am 88kg, not 80 like it says in the media guide,” he said.
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but