Rafael Nadal cruised into the Barcelona Open semi-finals on Friday by dispatching Gael Monfils 6-2, 6-2, while David Ferrer moved a step closer to another clay-court final against his fellow Spaniard by also advancing.
The top-ranked Nadal needed only 75 minutes to get past the ninth-ranked Frenchman, who was broken four times.
“The truth is it was a pretty complete game,” said Nadal, who is 29-1 at the clay-court tournament, which he is bidding to win for a sixth time. “I’m very happy since this is a matchup between two of the best players in the world and to win 6-2, 6-2 makes me very happy.”
Photo: Reuters
Nadal rallied from 40-0 down in the third game to convert his first break point with a forehand winner, with Monfils pushed deep behind the baseline.
Nadal extended his lead to 4-1 when Monfils netted a backhand to be broken again and Nadal held serve to take the first set.
The second set was a near replica of the first as Nadal broke Monfils in the third and fifth games again.
Photo: AFP
Monfils hit wide to trail 2-1 and then sent a forehand long after a net exchange to be broken for the fourth time. Nadal held serve to close out the match and set up a semi-final against Ivan Dodig of Croatia, who outlasted Spanish player Feliciano Lopez 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.
“This is super positive, but there’s still much to achieve,” said Nadal, the who is coming off his seventh straight Monte Carlo Masters title and improved to 30-0 on clay since last year.
Ferrer, who lost to Nadal in the Monte Carlo final last Sunday, moved a step closer to his fourth title match of the year by dismissing Jurgen Melzer 6-3, 6-3.
Melzer slammed his racket into the red dirt after netting to set up a set point for Ferrer, who converted it when the Austrian sent a shot long.
Melzer’s frustration carried over into the second set as he slapped a backhand wide to be broken in the first game, but Melzer — who beat Roger Federer in Monte Carlo — broke back to even it at 1-1.
Ferrer needed treatment on his left calf, but shrugged off the twinge to reach his fifth semi-final of the season after breaking for 4-3.
The sixth-ranked Ferrer sealed the victory when Melzer hit long.
Nicolas Almagro — who will reach a career-high 10th when the rankings are released tomorrow — beat Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-3, 6-3 to set up an all-Spanish semi-final with Ferrer, who leads their head-to-head record 6-0.
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
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care