Wimbledon champions Roger Federer and Serena Williams were on course for further success at the All-England Club after booking their places in the Olympic singles semi-finals on Thursday.
World No. 1 Federer is scheduled to face Argentina’s Juan Martin Del Potro for a place in the final, while Williams is to take on top women’s seed Victoria Azarenka in a repeat of her Wimbledon semi last month.
The two other semi-finals would pit Beijing bronze medalist Novak Djokovic against No. 3 seed Andy Murray, and Russia’s Maria Kirilenko is to face her teammate Maria Sharapova.
Federer secured his place in the last four with a 6-4, 7-6 win over the US’ John Isner, snatching victory in the second-set tiebreak with a cheeky shot which bounced off the top of the net.
“You just feel bad really, but relief because it’s finally over ... maybe I just got really lucky today,” Federer said.
“I don’t want to say that I feel invincible right now, but I feel good,” he added. “I’m not the only guy with confidence ... It’s a complete open tournament, I think. Everyone has a very good chance of going all the way.”
Del Potro, who beat Federer in the US Open final in 2009, overcame Japan’s Kei Nishikori 6-4, 7-6 for his spot in the last four.
“I am very happy to be in the semi-finals in my first Olympic Games. It is amazing. I don’t have too many words to explain this moment,” the eighth seed said.
Second seed Djokovic dropped just one game in the first set of his quarter-final clash with France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who was exhausted from playing in both the doubles and singles on Wednesday after clocking up the longest three-set match in Olympic history a day earlier.
Although the Frenchman took a 3-1 lead in the second, five-times Grand Slam winner Djokovic clawed it back to win 6-1, 7-5.
Watched by Prince William and his wife, Kate, Britain’s Murray eased to a 6-4, 6-1 win over injury-troubled Spaniard Nicolas Almagro, who received treatment on his right arm and shoulder after the first set.
In the women’s event, Belarusian Azarenka booked her place in the final four with a 6-4, 7-5 win over Germany’s Angelique Kerber.
Russia, which made a clean sweep of the women’s singles medals in Beijing, can be sure of taking home at least one in London, with Sharapova and Kirilenko both through to the semi-finals.
The pair are to play each other for a spot in the final after No. 3 seed Sharapova ended Kim Clijster’s hopes of an Olympic medal before her planned retirement later this year, beating the Belgian 6-2, 7-5.
Having been broken in the second set, a valiant Clijsters battled back to level the score, but was broken again and with the Russian serving for the match, the Belgian ploughed a backhand into the net to hand her opponent the victory.
“Kim is so experienced, I knew that it would be really tough ... it was such a tight second set, I was just happy to get through this one,” Sharapova said, excited that a Russian would reach the final.
“No matter who’s there, someone will be getting a gold or silver medal. It makes me really happy that one of us will represent our country in the finals, going for gold,” she added. “It’s a pretty great honor not just to be here, but to have a chance to win a gold medal. We’re so happy.”
No. 14 seed Kirilenko overcame Czech former Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova 7-6, 6-3, while the US’ Williams made light work of Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki, dismissing the eighth seed 6-0, 6-3.
Kirilenko and Williams would both have a second semi-final to play yesterday when they faced each other in the women’s doubles.
Two-times doubles gold medalists Venus and Serena Williams were to play Kirilenko and her partner Nadia Petrova, after the Americans knocked out second-seeded Italians Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci 6-1, 6-1 in less than an hour.
The US also has a shot at a medal in the men’s doubles, after top-seeded brothers Bob and Mike Bryan secured their semi-final spot with a 7-6, 7-6 win over Israel’s Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram, who ousted defending gold medalists Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka.
The Beijing bronze medalists would play Julien Benneteau and Richard Gasquet yesterday after the Frenchmen beat third-seeded Serbians Janko Tipsarevic and Nenad Zimonjic 6-4, 7-6.
TOOTHLESS: Bologna never looked like finding a way back, and Antonio Conte and his substitutes were waiting to celebrate long before the final whistle SSC Napoli on Monday lifted the Italian Supercoppa with a 2-0 win over Bologna in Riyadh, David Neres netting both goals to earn the league champions a deserved victory over the toothless Coppa Italia winners. Neres opened the scoring with a stunning strike from distance six minutes before halftime and found the net again in the 57th minute when Bologna were caught trying to play out of defense. “We came here as champions of Italy, we wanted this trophy and we showed it with a great performance,” Napoli forward Matteo Politano told Mediaset. “We could have scored a few more goals, but
Backup quarterback Luke Weaver on Wednesday night threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Nick Cenacle with 10 seconds left, as the University of Hawaii rallied for a 35-31 comeback victory over the University of California, Berkeley in a thrilling Hawaii Bowl. Weaver entered the game after Micah Alejado took a hard hit on the previous play. With the Rainbow Warriors (9-4) in range for a tying field goal, coach Timmy Chang took a shot at the end zone, and Cenacle got between two defensive backs and made the contested catch. “How amazing is that?” Chang said. “It’s a program that is built
Hosts Morocco on Friday were held to a 1-1 draw by Mali at the Africa Cup of Nations, ending their world record run of wins and leaving them still to make sure of progress to the next stage. Midfielder Brahim Diaz tucked away a penalty in stoppage-time at the end of the first half, but Mali equalized from the spot midway through the second half through Lassine Sinayoko. Both penalties were awarded after video reviews in a tempestuous clash at the end of a busy day of action at the tournament. Morocco were atop the Group A standings with four points, while Zambia,
An astounding 20 wickets fell on a frantic first day of the fourth Ashes Test yesterday, with Australia all out for 152 before storming back to dismiss England for 110 and leave the clash on a knife-edge. England skipper Ben Stokes won a key toss on a green track and his quicks feasted after sending in the hosts under overcast skies in front of 94,199 fans at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. It was the biggest cricket crowd ever at the cavernous arena, exceeding the 93,013 who watched the 2015 World Cup final, and they witnessed the home side collapse with Josh Tongue
RSS