Nadal, Sharapova soar into semis after Serena withdraws in Madrid
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WORLD No. 1 Rafael Nadal stormed into the semifinals of the Madrid Open yesterday with a 6-4, 6-2 over Tomas Berdych, his 17th consecutive win over the Czech.
Maria Sharapova also booked her place in the last four with a three-set win over Li Na, but top seed and reigning champion Serena Williams was forced to pull out of the tournament 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.
The 13-time grand slam champion will meet Spanish compatriot Roberto Bautista Agut or Colombia’s Santiago Giraldo today for a place in the final.
Williams was due to face fifth-seeded Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals but pulled out due to a thigh injury she had been carrying since sweeping aside Swiss teenager Belinda Bencic in the first round last Sunday.
With the French Open just two weeks away she decided to pull out to give herself time to recover.
“I have a left thigh injury and, unfortunately, have to withdraw from this year’s Madrid Open,” said Williams.
“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 at the Italian Open 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.
“For now, I will take it one day at a time and take advantage of some extra rest.”
Sharapova has been beaten by Williams in Madrid in the last two years, including in the 2013 final, and the Russian is now favorite to clinch her first title in the Spanish capital as she edged a thrilling match against second seed Li 2-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3 at the Magic Box tennis center.
“I will say the match was very close. I think it really could have gone her way today,” admitted Sharapova.
“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,” the Russian added
Australian Open champion Li looked on course for the semifinals 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, who is seeded eighth in Madrid, will face third seed Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland or French qualifier Caroline Garcia in the semifinals.
Also into today’s semis is fourth seed Simona Halep of Romania as she set up a meeting with Kvitova thanks to a 6-2, 6-2 thrashing of Serbia’s Ana Ivanovic.
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