Rafael Nadal yesterday came from behind against hard-hitting Jack Sock to reach the China Open semi-finals and set up a rematch with his shock US Open conqueror Fabio Fognini, while Taiwan’s Lu Yen-hsun crashed out.
The Spanish great, scrapping to recover his form after a tough year, was frequently outgunned by the American’s howitzer forehand, but he dug deep to see off the world No. 30, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.
“Yes, it was an important victory for me. Obviously I finished the match playing better than what I started. It’s important because I came back,” Nadal said.
Photo: AFP
Nadal had not reached a hardcourt semi-final for more than a year, but now faces Fognini — who stunned him last month in the US Open third round — for a place in the title match.
“He’s a great player. When you play against a great player, especially if you don’t play to your best, your chances are lower,” Nadal said of the Italian, who beat Uruguay’s Pablo Cuevas 6-1, 2-6, 6-2.
“If I am able to play my best tomorrow [today]... I am going to have my chances,” he said. “If not, it’s going to be tough. It’s simple. Sport is simple.”
In the last men’s quarter-final, unbeaten five-time champion Novak Djokovic faces the US’ John Isner for the prize of a semi-final against David Ferrer, who beat Lu 6-3, 6-1.
In the women’s draw, Ana Ivanovic beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-3, 7-5 to set up a semi-final with Timea Bacsinszky, who recovered from a first-set “bagel” to beat Sara Errani 0-6, 6-3, 7-5.
Fourth seed Agnieszka Radwanska beat Angelique Kerber 6-1, 6-4 to reach the semi-finals, where she faces either Bethanie Mattek-Sands or Garbine Muguruza.
JAPAN OPEN
Defending champion Kei Nishikori yesterday survived a war of attrition against Croatia’s Marin Cilic to reach the Japan Open semi-finals, winning a cliffhanger 3-6, 7-5, 6-3.
Stanislas Wawrinka overpowered US qualifier Austin Krajicek 6-3, 6-4 to join him in the last four, though the Swiss required less than an hour to take care of business on a sunny afternoon in Tokyo.
Second seed Nishikori was greeted like a rock star by 12,000 screaming fans, but Cilic, who beat Japan’s golden boy in last year’s US Open final, failed to read the script and quickly seized the initiative with some thunderous hitting.
Serving with such ferocity that he knocked the racquet out of Nishikori’s hand, the sixth seed broke first with a thumping forehand drive to lead 4-2 before wrapping up the opening set with an ace down the center.
However, Nishikori is a tough nut to crack on the Tokyo hardcourts, having captured the Japan Open twice in the past three years.
When cracks began to appear in Cilic’s armor, Nishikori leveled with an acrobatic leaping backhand that the lanky Croat could only dump into the net.
Cilic’s game unraveled under the onslaught in the decider as Nishikori caught fire, breaking for 3-1 and closing out the quarter-final with an ace after 2 hours, 11 minutes to ensure “Nishikori fever” stretches into the weekend.
Nishikori, bidding to win a fourth title of the year, faces Benoit Paire — the man who stunned him in the first round of this year’s US Open — after the Frenchman beat volatile Australian Nick Kyrgios 3-6, 6-4, 6-1.
World No. 4 Wawrinka’s path to the final was made easier when third seed Gilles Simon of France crashed out 6-3, 6-4 to Luxembourg’s Gilles Muller. Wawrinka made no mistakes as he powered past Krajicek in just 58 minutes, and the left-hander had no answer to the rapier-like ground strokes of the French Open champion.
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