Nadal closes in on top ranking as Kvitova ousts Li and Serena wins
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World No. 2 Rafael Nadal said yesterday he felt no extra pressure heading into a semifinal at the China Open which could see him return to the top of the men’s rankings.
The No. 2 seed in Beijing staged an extraordinary comeback against Fabio Fognini in their quarterfinal to keep alive his hopes of unseating Novak Djokovic from the top spot.
Djokovic, meanwhile, powered through his match with American Sam Querrey to set up a clash with France’s Richard Gasquet, who sent third seed Spaniard David Ferrer crashing out 6-3, 6-4.
Nadal will now have to beat Czech fourth seed Tomas Berdych in today’s match to return to the top for the first time since July 2011. “It’s something that doesn’t create me more pressure,” Nadal said. “It’s something that already happened in the past. If that happens again, it will be good, it will be special for me, but we’ll see.”
Nadal looked to be heading for a crushing defeat in his quarterfinal after Fognini claimed the first set and powered to a 4-1 lead in the second.
But he broke the Italian’s serve in the seventh game, before winning the next three to take the second set 6-4.
Fognini, who is ranked 19th in the world, won the opener of the third set. But the Spaniard sealed his passage through to the semifinals by claiming victory in the remaining games to seal the match 2-6, 6-4, 6-1.
Defending China Open champion Djokovic has spent 101 weeks at No. 1, but can only remain top of the rankings if he reclaims his title and if Nadal fails to reach the final.
Nadal has not lost a hardcourt match all season, after he missed the opening few weeks of 2013 with a stomach virus.
Berdych earned his place in the semifinals with a convincing 7-5, 6-2 victory over American John Isner.
Djokovic was also ruthless in his disposal of Querrey, crushing his opponent 6-1, 6-2.
Meanwhile, in the women’s draw, Serena Williams powered through her match with Caroline Wozniacki 6-1, 6-4.
The Danish sixth seed only briefly offered resistance, breaking Williams’s serve in the sixth game of the second set before forcing the world No. 1 to go on the offensive in a 38-shot rally in the seventh.
In her semifinal, the top seed will face Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska. The fourth seed defeated German seventh seed Angelique Kerber 7-6 (7), 6-4.
It was heartbreak for Chinese star Li Na, who was dumped out 6-4, 2-6, 4-6 by Petra Kvitova.
The 2011 French Open winner has twice reached the semifinals in Beijing, and looked set for her third appearance when she took the first set by breaking Kvitova’s serve in the final game.
The home-crowd favorite traded breaks with the ninth-seeded Czech at the start of the second set, but Kvitova pulled clear, winning the final four games. The match remained an intriguing battle in the decisive set, with both Li and Kvitova fighting furiously over break points.
Beijing’s National Tennis Centre erupted when Li saved a match point when she was losing 3-5, but her failure to save a second in the following game meant the 31-year-old still awaits her first major title on home soil.
Kvitova will face Jelena Jankovic. The Serb defeated Czech Lucie Safarova after an early scare, winning 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-4.
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