World No. 1 Rafael Nadal was handed a walkover into the quarter-finals of the Madrid Open on Thursday when his third-round opponent Philipp Kohlschreiber was forced out of the claycourt event with a left leg injury.
Nadal was joined in the last eight by world No. 2 Roger Federer, a 6-2, 6-4 winner over James Blake, and Andy Murray, who coped well with blustery conditions in the Magic Box stadium to dispatch Spanish 16th seed Tommy Robredo 7-5, 6-1.
Serbia’s Novak Djokovic, chasing a fifth straight final appearance, also advanced with a routine 6-4, 6-4 victory over unseeded Italian Andreas Seppi.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Fans waiting to see local hero Nadal play Kohlschreiber on center court were handed a disappointment around three hours before the match was set to begin when the ATP announced the German had withdrawn.
The Mallorca native is bidding for a sixth title of the season and a fourth on clay and will play seventh-seeded compatriot Fernando Verdasco for a place in the last four.
Federer fell to Blake at last year’s Beijing Olympics and laid down a marker in the opening game against the American 14th seed, breaking serve with a crashing backhand return.
PHOTO: EPA
The 13-times grand slam winner, who has yet to win a title this year, wrapped up the victory with a fifth ace on his first match point and will play Andy Roddick in the next round.
The sixth-seeded American was also given a walkover when his opponent Nikolay Davydenko withdrew with a left leg injury.
“I didn’t really see it as a revenge match,” Federer said of the Blake clash. “The tennis wasn’t as good as in Beijing but I’m happy it was that easy. It was a solid performance.”
COMFORTABLE WIN
A single break of the Robredo serve in the 11th game of a tight first set and three more in the second were enough to seal a comfortable win for world No. 3 Murray and he converted his first match point with a backhand return down the line.
The Briton, who turned 22 yesterday, has never won a tour title on clay and is looking to improve his record on the surface ahead of the French Open, which starts later this month.
He will next play Juan Martin Del Potro after the Argentine fifth seed battled past 11th-seeded Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.
World No. 4 Djokovic had a reasonably smooth passage against Seppi to set up a last-eight clash against wildcard Ivan Ljubicic, who battled back from a set down to beat eighth seed Gilles Simon 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.
“I wish I’d had a withdrawal,” Djokovic said at a news conference. “As it was I had to work very hard.”
SAFINA STRUGGLES
In women’s play, world No. 1 Dinara Safina overcame a gutsy fightback from Lucie Safarova to beat the unseeded Czech 6-0, 4-6, 6-3 and seal a place in the last eight of the Madrid Open on Thursday.
The Russian raced through the first set but stumbled in the second to twice lose her serve before slipping 2-0 behind in the third.
Safina rallied to break back twice and wrapped up the win when Safarova sent a return over the baseline on the second match point.
Top seed Safina was set to play Alona Bondarenko yesterday for a place in the last four after the Ukrainian beat Russian Anna Chakvetadze 6-0, 2-6, 6-3 earlier on Thursday.
“I started very well, very aggressive, but then I just stopped and let her back in,” Safina told a news conference.
“All I can take from the match is how I played in the first set, which is how I should play all the time. I hope I play two sets like that in my next match,” she said.
Fourth seed Jelena Jankovic swept into the last eight with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over qualifier Elena Vesnina, another Russian.
The Serbian former world No. 1 had a slow start to the season when she struggled with her fitness and the distraction of her mother’s ill health, but seems to have regained her focus ahead of the French Open, which starts later this month.
Jankovic stuttered when serving for the match at 5-1 in the second set but broke Vesnina for the sixth time in the next game when the Russian failed to deal with a thumping backhand.
VYING FOR SEMIS
Swiss Patty Schnyder was set to play Jankovic yesterday for a place in the semi-finals.
Frenchwoman Amelie Mauresmo and Russian qualifier Vera Dushevina booked their places in the last eight on Wednesday.
Former No. 1 Mauresmo was to meet Hungarian Agnes Szavay yesterday and Dushevina was set to play Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark.
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Team Taiwan avoided missing the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time by defeating Spain 6-3 in a do-or-die game in Taipei last night. After narrowly escaping a mercy-rule loss to Spain in the WBC Qualifiers opener on Friday last week, the home team — winner of last year's WBSC Premier12 title three months ago — got their revenge against the 2023 European champions at Taipei Dome. "It felt quite different from when we won the Premier12," Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) said after the game, recalling the ups and downs the team has experienced over the past few days. Unlike in
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tomorrow for the final berth at next year's World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome yesterday. The home team's loss means that Nicaragua finishes No. 1 in the qualifier round held in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to the games. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier yesterday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan, competing under the name Chinese Taipei, finished third, while South Africa placed at the bottom
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