Defending champion Novak Djokovic powered into the China Open semi-finals with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Gilles Simon yesterday.
The Serbian fended off all seven break points he faced while breaking Simon three times.
Djokovic will meet John Isner, who upset fourth-seeded Nikolay Davydenko 7-6 (4), 6-4.
PHOTO: EPA
Third seed Robin Soderling was beaten 6-2, 6-4 by Spain’s David Ferrer and Ivan Ljubicic beat second seed Andy Murray 6-3, 6-2.
In the women’s quarters, second seed Vera Zvonareva made short work of Francesca Schiavone, winning 6-0, 6-2.
Li Na gave the Chinese crowd something to celebrate with a hard-fought 7-6 (8), 6-3 victory against Latvia’s Anastasija Sevastova.
The Chinese world No. 15 struggled in the first set, winning on a tiebreaker.
In the second, Li looked set to win at 5-2, but Sevastova broke her serve to stay in the game.
Undeterred, Li promptly broke back for the win, eliciting a huge cheer from the home crowd at the Beijing Tennis Center.
Ecstasy turned to agony for Caroline Wozniacki less than 24 hours after she was crowned world No. 1 when she crumpled to the ground clutching her knee while leading Ana Ivanovic 7-6, 3-1.
She overstretched as she smashed a backhanded return but after taking an injury time out to get her knee strapped, showed her champion’s instinct to down Ivanovic 7-6, 6-4.
JAPAN OPEN
REUTERS, TOKYO
World No. 1 Rafael Nadal sped past Russia’s Dmitry Tursunov 6-4, 6-1 to reach the semi-finals of the Japan Open and keep a special appointment yesterday.
The Spaniard revealed he wanted to go to watch Japan play Argentina in a soccer friendly in Saitama in the evening.
Frenchman Gael Monfils ousted second seed Andy Roddick 7-6, 4-6, 7-6 in a pulsating quarter-final in Tokyo earlier in the day.
Nadal came out all guns blazing and after safely pocketing the first set, the Spaniard blitzed through the second.
“I want to see Japan and Argentina after I have some dinner and rest,” he told reporters.
Monfils will play Czech Radek Stepanek in the semi-final after Finland’s Jarkko Nieminen pulled out with a fever.
In the other quarter-final Viktor Troicki of Serbia beat Spain’s Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-2, 3-6, 6-4.
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
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