Posts Tagged ‘semis’

ATP Semis Preview, Doubles Titans Clash, Azarenka Out, Novak Gets High – Tennis Now News 03/18/2011

Lauren Lynch from Tennis Now reports the latest news from the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. The semifinal bracket for men’s singles is falling into place, as Rafael Nadal faces Juan Martin del Potro. Nadal fought Ivo Karlovic to the last inch in order to advance, and del Potro got a free pass. Will hard practice or a little extra rest make the difference? Richard Gasquet, Novak Djokovic, Stanislas Wawrinka and Roger Federer will battle for the second semis bracket. Also, Federer and Nadal will go head to head as part of their doubles teams (with Wawrinka and Lopez, respectively) which will battle this round. Nadal discusses his doubles partner in an interview. Victoria Azarenka is out with an injury, and Caroline Wozniacki faces Maria Sharapova in the semifinals. Wozniacki, Azarenka and others take time out to salute the brave sufferers of the recent disasters in Japan. Meanwhile, Djokovic has high-flying aeronautic trick up his sleeve. Watch to find out more! Check out www.TennisNow.com for the latest interviews, photos and footage taken live at Indian Wells by Tennis Now. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube, where we will be posting updates as they happen, along with daily multimedia content on our homepage. www.TennisNow.com www.facebook.com/tennisnow www.twitter.com/tennis_now

Stosur ousts Zvonareva to reach Stuttgart semis

Stosur ousts Zvonareva to reach Stuttgart semis
Samantha Stosur admitted Thursday’s quarter-final win over second-seed Vera Zvonareva was her best of the year so far as she reached the last four at Stuttgart’s WTA tournament.

Read more on Bangkok Post – Thailand’s English news

2009 US Open Semis / Potential Nadal – Del Potro Matchup

www.fuzzyyellowballs.com We may be getting ahead of ourselves, but we’re going to say that Rafael Nadal and Juan Martin Del Potro will meet in the semifinals of the 2009 US Open. Nadal still has to get through Fernando Gonzalez in the quarters, while Del Potro has to beat Cilic, but we’re guessing both those wins will come true. The Nadal – Del Potro matchup is interesting for a few reasons. Del Potro, in some respects, plays a similar game to Robin Soderling, who beat Nadal at the 2009 French Open. In this video we discuss what tactics to look for and how to tell if Nadal is playing well.

Dream semis set as Federer, Nadal win at Indian Wells

Dream semis set as Federer, Nadal win at Indian Wells
Indian Wells (California), March 19 (DPA) Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic set up a third meeting in as many months this season as both ploughed into the semi-finals of the Indian Wells Masters with runaway wins.

Read more on IANS India Private Limited via Yahoo! India News

Chennai Open tennis: Berdych, Malisse in semis

Chennai Open tennis: Berdych, Malisse in semis
By Anand Philar, Chennai, Jan 7 : Top seed Tomas Berdych, despite struggling with his serve, had enough firepower to knock out unfancied Blaz Kavcic 6-3, 6-3, to enter the semi-finals of the Aircel ATP Chennai Open tennis tournament here Friday.

Read more on New Kerala

Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray roll into Shanghai semis

Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray roll into Shanghai semis
SHANGHAI – Roger Federer routed Robin Soderling 6-1, 6-1 Friday and advanced to the semifinals of the Shanghai…

Read more on Boston Herald

Djokovic dominates Monfils to get into U.S. Open semis

Djokovic dominates Monfils to get into U.S. Open semis
Novak Djokovic fought through gusty winds to roll to his victory over Gael Monfils and reach the U.S. Open semifinals.

Read more on Toronto Star

Tennis: Li Na wins twice in a day to reach semis

Chinese top seed Li Na made it through to the semi-finals of the WTA grasscourt event here at Edgbaston after winning twice on Friday.

Li first defeated German 13th seed Angelique Kerber, losing the first set but coming back to win 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 on a day when organisers tried to make-up for lost time in a rain-marred event.

Her quarter-final opponent, Estonian Kaia Kanepi, wasted little time Friday in a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Portugal’s Michelle Larcher De Brito.

Thoughts that Kanepi might be the fresher player were reinforced when she won the first three games against Li.

But the 28-year-old Chinese regrouped. Li, the world number 12, won 6-4, 6-2 and will now face France’s Aravane Rezai in the semi-finals on Saturday.

Earlier, second seed Maria Sharapova once again proved too strong for her old foe Sesil Karatantcheva as she reached the semi-finals with a 6-2, 6-4 win.

Back in 2004, an altercation in practice at the Indian Wells event in the United States led to Karatantcheva vowing to kick “her (Sharapova’s) butt”.

But in front of a standing-room only crowd on one of the outer courts, Sharapova beat Karatantcheva in three sets, before thrashing her 6-0, 6-1 in the second round at Wimbledon a year later.

Karatantcheva, the 2004 French Open junior champion, was banned as a 16-year-old for two years for a drugs offence in 2006.

The Bulgarian-born player, who now represents Kazakhstan, has always maintained her innocence after testing positive for the steroid nandrolone.

Second seed Sharapova won two matches on Thursday, completing a rain-delayed 6-0, 6-3 victory over Bethanie Mattek-Sands of the United States and then beating fellow Russian Alla Kudryavtseva 6-3, 6-1.

The 22-year-old Sharapova, who recently returned to action after nine months out with a shoulder injury, told the BBC on Friday: “I definitely feel in a better situation this year than last.

“Last year I wasn’t sure how my arm was going to hold up, and I was always on the watch-out for that, but I feel much better about it now.”

Sharapova, Wimbledon champion in 2004, has won this Wimbledon warm-up event twice before and is seeded to meet Li in the final.

But Sharapova must first get past Alison Riske in the last four.

The US teenager arrived at Birmingham never having won a match on the main Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) tour but she continued her fine form at Edgbaston with a three-set victory over world number 16 Yanina Wickmayer.

Belgian third see Wickmayer won the first set on a tie break but a service break in each of the next two sets saw the 19-year-old Riske to a 6-7, (5/7) 6-4, 6-3 win.

Regardless of the result of her match with Sharapova, Riske is sure to improve her career-high ranking of 185.

Playing two matches in a day, as happened in several of Friday’s quarter-finals, worked against Italian fifth seed Sara Errani.

Having beaten Marina Erakovic of New Zealand in three sets in the morning, Errani was defeated in straight sets by fourth seed Rezai, with the Frenchwoman winning 7/6 (7/2), 7-5 in a close encounter.

Wimbledon Championships Hospitality
Mon Jun 28, 2010 at 11:00 Wimbledon Center Court London United Kingdom
Wimbledon Championships Hospitality
Tue Jun 29, 2010 at 11:00 Wimbledon Number One Court London United Kingdom

Clijsters overcomes Pennetta to reach semis

Clijsters overcomes Pennetta to reach semis
Defending US Open champion Kim Clijsters has reached the semifinals at the Cincinnati Open, beating Italy’s Flavia Pennetta 7-6 (6), 6-4 in oppressive afternoon heat.

Read more on Stuff

Australian Open- Nadal Retires; Hennin Advances To Semis

Rafael Nadal definitely didn’t have a good day on Tuesday. Playing in the quarterfinals against Andy Murray, the Spaniard re-injured his knee and decided to retire from the tournament in the third set of the game; he was losing 6-3, 7-6 (2), 3-0. This is the second time that Nadal has had to retire from a major tournament because of knee problems. Knee tendinitis had pushed him off of the courts for at least one month after Wimbledon. As a result, he was excluded from the Roland Garros final last year. The problem seems to be back; Nadal required medical assistance in the third game of the third set, after which he decided to exit not only the game, but the tournament as well. Nor did he refer to the problem after the game. His uncle, Tony Nadal, told the press that the player would make a statement after being submitted to several scans and MRIs in Spain, when his doctor would be able to examine him more thoroughly. For Murray, the early exit was a little disappointing; the Scott was playing a great game, not realizing that Nadal was suffering from knee pain. “When the big moments came in the match, I thought I dictated what happened on the court,” Murray said. “Obviously, I didn’t know when he hurt his knee…but from my side, I played really well and deserved to be up when the match was stopped.” Murray is struggling to win his first Grand Slam title; if he manages, he will be the first Brit to do so in 74 years. On the women’s side, Justine Hennin had a good match against the Russian Nadia Petrova, defeating her 7-6, 7-5 and guaranteeing her ticket for the semifinals. Petrova gave Hennin a hard time at the beginning of the second set, when she was able to break the Belgian’s serve; Hennin, however, was able to recover the game, winning seven of the next nine games of the set. This with Petrova coming off of amazing defeats of Kim Clijsters and French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova. The victory is a great comeback for Hennin, who is playing her second tournament after returning from an 18-month retirement. She moved on for a match against Zheng Jie, who was able to beat Venus Williams in the quarterfinals. She defeated Zheng in 51 minutes, 6-1, 6-0. Hennin has won seven Grand Slam titles in the past and is considered one of the best tennis players in history.

Sharapova, Azarenka reach Stanford semis

Sharapova, Azarenka reach Stanford semis
Sharapova survives a three-set endurance match to reach Stanford semis. Marion Bartoli – Victoria Azarenka – 2009 Bank of the West Classic – Belarus – Maria Sharapova

Read more on Fox Sports

Himfr.com reports Federer squeezes into semis, Murray misses out

World number one Roger Federer squeezed into the semifinals of the ATP World Tour Finals on Thursday despite a 6-2, 6-7(5), 6-3 defeat by Juan Martin del Potro and the result also knocked Andy Murray out of the tournament.

Del Potro and Federer both advanced after a three-way tie in Group A, with Murray’s elimination literally coming down to the last game after three rounds of group matches.

All three players finished the round-robin stage with two wins and identical 5-4 set records, but Murray had the lowest percentage of games won. Had Del Potro lost just one more game against Federer, Murray would have advanced at the Argentine’s expense.

In an earlier match, Murray notched up a 6-4, 6-7(4), 7-6(3) victory over Spain’s Fernando Verdasco.

“I’m going to go home, get some rest and then see what happens with the match. I definitely won’t watch too much of it. Got to try and look after my body the best that I can, if I get to play another match,” said the 22-year-old Scot.

Verdasco’s defeat ended a miserable outing for Spain at the tournament. The country was the only nation to field two representatives in the elite eight-man line-up but both Verdasco and Rafael Nadal, who was in Group B, were eliminated.

Besides, the urgent need to boost domestic consumption to combat the global downturn demands that the government lessen the people’s educational and other social welfare burdens as much and as soon as possible.

Government-led investment is undoubtedly crucial for the sound growth of the national economy next year. But policymakers should also realize that closing the deficit in public spending on education is equally important.

Australian Open – Nadal, Federer, Roddick and Verdasco Reach Semis

I guess the player whom I really did not expect to go this far is Spain’s Fernando Verdasco. The quarterfinal matches produced some unexpected results. But what matters is the looming showdown between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer in the finals. Will fate allow them to follow the script that every tennis fan is wishing for? Let us wait and see.

Andy Roddick was the first one to reach the semis when he actually beat defending champion Novak Djokovic who retired with a tennis match result of 7-6 (3), 6-4, 6-2, 2-1. It was a bitter way to end the defense of his title for Djokovic who clearly suffered under the extremely hot weather. Compounding Djokovic’s woes was the fact that he played in a night match previously against Marco Baghdatis and the game finished at 2:20 am. He clearly had difficulty moving by the fourth set before he threw in the towel and retired. Roddick was a good sport though, as he held his emotions under check and didn’t seem to gloat once Djokovic made his decision. To Roddick’s credit, he seems to be playing better tennis than before, his progress to the quarterfinals was overshadowed by the hype surrounding Nadal and Federer. WIth his powerful serves and better all around game, I guess Djokovic didn’t really had a chance against Roddick to fight back.

Federer beat Juan Martin del Potro in the evening match in a rather convincing fashion, 6-3, 6-0, 6-0. After his previous match were in he almost got eliminated, Federer came back and didn’t really gave del Potro any chances to win a point. It was Federer’s most devastating win, as he seemed to be sending out a message to everyone that he isn’t done yet and is still aiming to break Pete Sampras’ record of most Grand Slam Men’s Singles titles won. The win reminded supporters of the Federer of years back, when in a zone, is so difficult to beat. His victory sets him up with a very interesting semi-final against an old rival in Roddick. Next to a Nadal-Federer match, a Federer-Roddick match will sure prove to be a treat for the fans of tennis who have not seen the two men play against each other in a major tournament since a Wimbledon final years back.

Verdasco proved to be this year’s giant killer as he eliminated Andy Murray in the fourth round then followed it up with a victory over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France  under a closed roof of Rod Laver Arena. The score was 7-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2. Right from the start of the match, Verdasco appeared to be the more energetic and spritely player. He copied a page from Nadal’s repertoire of shots as he tried to hit game winners into the corners of the court. Tsonga looked like a different player as he struggled to place his first serves in.

Nadal faced Gilles Simon of France in the evening and the Frenchman was the only player who has provided the top ranked Spaniard some scary moments as he battled Nadal in the second and third sets before losing 6-2, 7-5, 7-5. Simon actually forced the game to Nadal, dictating the flow of the game and the pace that threw Nadal off his comfort zone. Simon made Nadal produce 24 unforced errors and only 29 winners. Too bad that Simon was error prone himself as he had 41 but did produced 42 winners to keep the match close.

Nadal, Djokovic move into Monte Carlo Masters semis

Nadal, Djokovic move into Monte Carlo Masters semis
MONTE CARLO, Monaco (AP) Rafael Nadal moved into the semifinals of the Monte Carlo Masters with a 6-4, 6-2 victory on Friday over Juan Carlos Ferrero, extending his winning streak in the event to 30 matches. Top-seeded Novak Djokovic of Serbia advanced with a 6-2, 6-3 win over David Nalbandian.

Read more on The Japan Times

Djokovic and Nadal qualified for Monte Carlo semis

Top seeded Rafael Nadal extended his winning line at the Monte Carlo Masters to 25 matches by defeating Ivan Ljubicic 6-3 6-3 on Friday in his second match of the day, to proceed one step away from a fifth straight final.

After crushing Nicolas Lapentti of Ecuador 6-3 6-0 in a rain late third round match, the four time French Open champion indicated few symbols of exhaustion in winning his 19th straight match on clay to reach the semifinals.

Nadal elaborated who only had time to play one game on Thursday, “I don’t keep in mind ever winning two singles matches in one day, only doubles. I didn’t have a lengthy match in the morning, so I was completely 100 per cent to play the second. That’s imperative.”

Nadal settled the match when Ljubicic attempted to finish a short rally with a backhand winner which went long. Though Nadal has not threw a set in Monte Carlo since downing Roger Federer in four sets in the 2006 final, he said he’s still adjusting to playing on his favorite surface again.

Nadal said, “Have to play some more inside, fewer faults, serve a little bit well, I think all expressions of the game I have to get better.”

The Spaniard has achieved the last four Monte Carlo titles, and has gone on to capture the French Open each time. His final defeat on clay was to Juan Carlos Ferrero in the second round of the Rome Masters in May last year. Nadal ahead plays the fourth seeded Andy Murray, who found his initial career semifinal on clay after crushing No.8 Nikolay Davydenko of Russia 7-6 6-4.

Also, third seeded Novak Djokovic qualified for the semifinals for the second successive year by defeating No.7 Fernando Verdasco of Spain 6-2 4-6 6-3 on Friday. Djokovic burst Verdasco, the Australian Open semi finalist, in the sixth game of the deciding set and closed out the match on serve.

Djokovic said, “I could have over the job in two sets, but then he came back, adding that serious rain from Thursday made for tricky situation on the clay. The courts were actually damp. Even today you could feel it. The balls were getting bald and really fast. It was tough to control.”

Djokovic, who qualified for the semifinals of the French Open last year, will meet No. 13 Stanislas Wawrinka in the last four after he punch German qualifier Andreas Beck 6-2 6-4.