Rafael Nadal overcame Ernests Gulbis and his continuing bout of fever with a courageous performance to reach the semi-finals of the Qatar Open on Thursday.
Nadal’s 7-6 (7/3), 6-3 win over Gulbis, a gifted but unpredictable Latvian ranked just outside the top 20, means that he is within one win of another episode of his great rivalry with Roger Federer.
However, the holder of three of the four Grand Slam titles could not capitalize on a good start, lacked his usual overwhelming physicality and often left the ball in short, attackable positions for a hard-hitting opponent.
PHOTO: AFP
Indeed, after relinquishing a 3-1 lead in the first set, there seemed to be doubts about whether Nadal, who has been on antibiotics, would last if it developed into a long, tough tussle.
Nadal called for the doctor, apparently feeling unwell. He was told to drink more and that if he didn’t feel better soon, he might then think about whether or not he wanted to continue.
That caused Nadal to call out rather alarmingly “water, water, water,” but although his performance remained below par, he always seemed the likely winner after surviving the tiebreaker.
The highlight of his effort was a brilliant plunging volley from a fierce passing shot by Gulbis at 30-40 in the sixth game of the second set, just when a break of serve might have lifted his young opponent to a higher level. After closing that game out for 4-2, he began to see the finish line and appeared to find extra energy as he did so.
“I just did the best I could today,” Nadal said. “I started well and I pushed him to make many mistakes. I will be more ready for my next match.”
His semi-final opponent will be Nikolay Davydenko, the defending champion from Russia, who overcame the steep serving of Ivo Karlovic, the former top 20 Croatian, 6-3, 7-5.
Davydenko beat Nadal in a sensational final last year, losing the first set to love and saving two match points in the process.
“I will be ready for him this time,” Nadal said.
Federer was not at his best either, but he reached his eighth successive semi-final since losing his Wimbledon title six months ago by outplaying Viktor Troicki 6-2, 6-2.
Federer passed up fully seven break points before breaking through for 4-2 in the second set, but there were still some signs of the improved form he has enjoyed since his association with coach Paul Annacone.
There was also a surreal phase, late in the first set, when Federer’s acceleration into a 5-2 lead coincided with a burst of noisy and colorful fireworks, as if they had been planned as an accompaniment to his explosive arts.
Federer now has a semi-final against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who is seeking his first title in 15 months after a long spell with knee problems, and who progressed with a 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (11/9) win over Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, the seventh-seeded Spaniard.
CHENNAI OPEN
AP, CHENNAI, INDIA
Kei Nishikori of Japan rallied to beat Alejandro Falla of Colombia 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 on Thursday to reach the quarter-finals of the Chennai Open.
The 98th-ranked Nishikori, who beat two-time defending champion Marin Cilic in the opening round, was down a break and trailing 3-0 in the second set when he turned it around.
Also, sixth-seeded Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia defeated Alexandre Kudryavtsev of Russia 6-2, 7-6 (7-3), and eighth-seeded Robin Haase of the Netherlands beat Yuichi Sugita of Japan 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Swiss third seed Stanislas Wawrinka overcame Belgian qualifier David Goffin 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-3) to advance to the next round.
Falla, who stretched Roger Federer to five sets at Wimbledon last year, overpowered his Japanese opponent in the opening set with powerful strokes from the baseline and looked in complete control after going up a break early in the second.
However, Nishikori managed a break in the fourth game of that set and went on to win nine straight games. Falla, ranked 105th, smashed his racket on the court in frustration as his opponent took control.
The 49th-ranked Tipsarevic broke Kudryavtsev in the fourth and eight games to clinch the opening set, but the big serving Serbian was extended to the tiebreaker in the second set.
Last year’s runner-up Wawrinka was broken in the opening game of the first set, but broke back in the eighth to force the tiebreaker.
Goffin raced to a 3-0 lead in the second game, but Wawrinka broke his opponent in the seventh game and won on another tiebreaker.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
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