World No. 1 Rafael Nadal stormed into the semi-finals of the Madrid Masters on Friday with his 17th consecutive win over Tomas Berdych, 6-4, 6-2.
Maria Sharapova also booked her place in the last four of the Madrid Open with a three-set win over Li Na, but top seed and reigning champion Serena Williams was forced to pull out due to a thigh injury.
Despite coming into the tournament with doubts following surprise defeats to David Ferrer and Nicolas Almagro in recent weeks, Nadal has looked in fine form in the Spanish capital as he has cruised into the last four without the loss of a set.
Photo: EPA
“I just managed to go over the barrier of the quarter-finals against a difficult opponent, which I haven’t done for a couple of weeks, so I’m very happy abut that,” Nadal said. “Now I just need to make that effort once more tomorrow. I have to keep on going on in the manner that I have so far this week, which means getting better a little each day.”
The 13-time Grand Slam champion was to meet compatriot Roberto Bautista Agut yesterday for a place in the final as he overcame in-form Colombian Santiago Giraldo 6-3, 6-4.
World No. 5 Ferrer became the third Spaniard to reach the last four with a 7-6 (7/3), 6-3 win over Latvian Ernests Gulbis.
And he will face Kei Nishikori, who ensured he will become the first Japanese man to break into the top 10 of the world rankings tomorrow with his 13th consecutive win in beating Feliciano Lopez 6-4, 6-4.
Williams was due to face Petra Kvitova in the quarter-finals, but pulled out due to a thigh injury she had been carrying since sweeping aside Swiss teenager Belinda Bencic in the first round on Sunday last week.
“I have a left thigh injury and, unfortunately, have to withdraw from this year’s Madrid Open,” she said. “It happened during my first-round match. It started to get better, but most importantly right now, I just need some time to rest and recover. It’s beyond words. It’s so frustrating.”
However, the American insisted that she will try to defend her title in Rome next week.
“I am planning to play in Rome. Fortunately, I have a bye next week, so will have an extra day of rest,” he said.
“For now, I will take it one day at a time and take advantage of some extra rest,” she said.
Sharapova has been beaten by Williams in Madrid for the past two years, including in last year’s final, and the Russian is now the favorite to clinch her first title in the Spanish capital as she edged a thrilling match against second seed Li 2-6, 7-6 (7/5), 6-3.
“I will say the match was very close. I think it really could have gone her way today,” Sharapova said. “It was just a matter of a few points in the second set and in the third, although I was up a break throughout the third set, you know she’s not going to let go. I didn’t win the match until the last point was played.”
Li looked on course for the semi-finals when she broke to lead 4-3 in the second set.
However, Sharapova broke back immediately and, despite needing four set points, finally forced the match into a deciding set when Li netted at 5-6 down in the tie-break.
There were three breaks of serve to open the third set, but Sharapova took control when she finally consolidated the break at 3-1 and was gifted the final game when Li double faulted on match point.
The four-time Grand Slam champion will face third seed Agnieszka Radwanska in the semi-finals after the Pole overcame French qualifier Caroline Garcia in three hard-fought sets 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 after nearly two-and-a-half hours on court.
Also into the semis is fourth seed Simona Halep as she set up a meeting with Kvitova thanks to a 6-2, 6-2 thrashing of Serbia’s Ana Ivanovic.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Forget Real Madrid, Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain, the world’s best soccer team — statistically speaking — might be a little-known outfit from the closed central Asian nation of Turkmenistan. Founded last year, Arkadag, named in honor of former Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, have been unstoppable, notching up 36 consecutive domestic victories in a run still ongoing. The side have not lost a single competitive match and swept to a league and cup double in their inaugural season — success unthinkable almost anywhere else. However, in Turkmenistan, it could hardly have gone any other way. The energy-rich country is one of the most closed
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping