Rafael Nadal beat Leonardo Mayer in straight sets on Thursday to progress to the semi-finals of the Mexican Open, setting up a meeting with Spanish compatriot Nicolas Almagro.
Second seed Nadal won 6-1, 7-5 in 1 hour, 41 minutes as the former world No. 1 continued his comeback from a long-term knee injury and builds toward the French Open.
Third seed Almagro also had a straight-sets win, defeating Horacio Zeballos 6-3, 6-4.
Photo: Reuters
Top seed David Ferrer remained on track for a fourth straight Mexican Open title by breezing past Paolo Lorenzi 6-3, 6-1, notching his 18th consecutive win in the tournament.
Ferrer’s semi-final opponent was Italy’s Fabio Fognini, who beat Santiago Giraldo 7-5, 6-4.
“So far I’ve played in three semi-finals and that’s fantastic news, and it’s even better because my three best games have been here,” Nadal said. “Now I feel like I have nothing to lose no matter what happens tomorrow. Either I will go on to play the final or I will go happy to play in another tournament knowing that the knee is responding better.”
Nadal has good reason to be confident of beating Almagro as he boasts an 8-0 record against his fellow Spaniard, yet the former No.1 said his long absence from the tour must be taken into account.
“I don’t feel as the favorite for tomorrow, it’s been seven months without competing and I will be facing a great clay player,” Nadal said. “I will do my best to play a great match to reach the final, it’s that clear.”
On Tuesday, Nadal said he may pull out of next week’s Indian Wells Masters in California to spare his fragile knees from the hard courts and save himself for Europe.
He did not say whether he would also compete in the Key Biscayne Masters, where he has reached the final three times and which follows Indian Wells.
Inter on Sunday were given a letoff when they snatched a late 1-1 derby draw with AC Milan, while league leaders SSC Napoli were held by a late goal at AS Roma. Reigning champions Inter remain three points behind Napoli, who looked to be heading five clear as they led in Rome until Angelino volleyed in a stunning leveler in the first minute of stoppage-time. Angelino’s strike gave even more significance to Stefan de Vrij’s last-gasp equalizer at the San Siro. The defender forced home Nicola Zalewski’s knockdown just as it looked like Tijjani Reijnders’ opener would be enough for Milan. “I can
The Washington Capitals and Winnipeg Jets on Saturday did not disappoint in a thrilling midseason matchup in front of a fired-up sellout crowd of more than 18,500 fans. The top two teams in the NHL delivered with a combined nine goals, including the 877th of Alex Ovechkin’s career to put him 18 back of breaking Wayne Gretzky’s record. That tied the score, the Jets pulled it out in overtime and just about everyone involved got their money’s worth out of the 5-4 game. “We knew how we were both sitting in the standings and both having real good years,” Winnipeg coach Scott
BACK-TO-BACK: The League One club, which is owned by stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, is sparing no expense to clinch promotion to the Championship Hollywood endings are pricey, even in England’s third division. In pursuit of their third straight promotion, Wrexham AFC splashed some cash at League One rival Reading to secure the services of striker Sam Smith. The Welsh club owned by actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney confirmed the signing of the 26-year-old Smith on Friday. He is one of the top scorers in the third division. The transfer fee was not disclosed, but British media widely reported it to be about £2 million (US$2.48 million) — not extravagant, but a hefty price at this level and it would be about the same figure that
Santiago Castro on Tuesday had an immediate impact off the bench as he scored the goal to send Bologna into the Coppa Italia semi-finals for the first time in 26 years. Bologna won 1-0 against last year’s runners-up, Atalanta BC, and are to play either holders Juventus or Empoli in the final four. Juventus are to host Empoli in their quarter-final on Feb. 26. The last time Bologna reached the semi-finals was in 1999, when they lost 4-2 to ACF Fiorentina. There were chances for both sides in a high-tempo match in Bergamo, but it was Bologna who broke the deadlock 10 minutes from