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.
Matvei Michkov did not score on Monday, but the Philadelphia rookie had a hand in both goals as hosts the Flyers earned a 2-1 victory over the Nashville Predators. Ryan Poehling and Jamie Drysdale got the goals for the Flyers (31-36-9, 71 points), who won their third straight. Michkov and Travis Konecny assisted on both. Ivan Fedotov stopped 28 shots to earn his first win since March 1, ending a personal six-game losing streak. Zachary L’Heureux got the lone goal for Nashville. Michael McCarron and Brady Skjei got the assists for the Predators (27-39-8, 62 points), who have just four goals in their
Arminia Bielefeld on Tuesday pulled off a major upset in the DFB-Pokal by defeating defending champions Bayer 04 Leverkusen 2-1 in their semi-final. The third-division team came from behind after Jonathan Tah gave the visitors a 17th-minute lead. Marius Worl replied three minutes later and Maximilian Groser scored Bielefeld’s second goal just before the break. The home team looked more likely to add to that tally as the Leverkusen players looked jaded. “I’m just proud of this team,” Bielefeld coach Mitch Kniat said as most of the fans the small stadium sang around him. “No one will sleep in the city tonight.” Patrik Schick went
THREES KINGS: The Celtics claimed a piece of league history by setting a new record for the number of threes in a season, ending their game with 1,370 Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun on Friday combined for 65 points as the Houston Rockets halted Oklahoma City’s 11-game winning streak with a statement 125-111 victory. In a potential Western Conference finals preview, the Rockets produced a dominant all-round performance to jolt the top-seeded Thunder’s all-conquering preparations for the post-season. Green finished with 34 points from 11-of-24 shooting, while Turkish big man Sengun made 31 points as second-placed Houston improved to 51-27. Oklahoma City grabbed the lead in the opening minutes of the first quarter, but Houston soon knocked the Thunder out of their stride with a physical approach to move into the
Marcus Rashford’s first goals for Aston Villa on Sunday inspired a 3-0 win against Preston North End that sent his side into the FA Cup semi-finals for the first time in 10 years. Rashford struck twice in the second half at Deepdale to end Preston’s stubborn resistance before Jacob Ramsey wrapped up Villa’s long-awaited return to the last four. Villa are to face Crystal Palace — 3-0 winners at Fulham on Saturday — in the semi-finals at Wembley Stadium in London. Revitalized since joining Villa on loan from Manchester United during the January transfer window, Rashford is beginning to show the form that