Holder Rafael Nadal provided more evidence that he is regaining his old dominance on clay after an injury-hit season last year by cruising past Romania’s Victor Hanescu 6-3, 6-2 at the Rome Masters on Thursday.
British world No. 5 Andy Murray struggled, however, losing 6-3, 6-4 to Nadal’s Spanish compatriot David Ferrer.
Nadal, who romped to his sixth consecutive Monte Carlo Masters title earlier this month, displayed superb movement throughout and got his first break in the fourth game with a sizzling return.
PHOTO: AFP
He produced stunning forehand winners on his way to going 4-1 ahead in the second set, then fended off Hanescu’s valiant attempts to pull back a break, before sealing victory with a smash at the net.
In the last eight, Nadal will meet Stanislas Wawrinka, who crushed Swede Robin Soderling 6-3, 6-2.
Murray had snapped a run of three defeats with victory over Italy’s Andreas Seppi on Tuesday, but he looked below his best in the third-round meeting with Ferrer. He got in fewer than a third of his first serves in the opening set, which 13th seed Ferrer sealed with a sweet drop volley after breaking in the sixth game.
The poor serving infected other parts of Murray’s game and he shook himself a few times, before conceding serve again in the seventh game of the second set. Clay specialist Ferrer served out to beat the Scot and set up a quarter-final with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
World No. 2 Novak Djokovic progressed too, with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Thomaz Bellucci that was harder than the score suggested.
Djokovic, the 2008 champion, had to come from a break down in each set against the Brazilian, who put up a lively display, but at times had trouble keeping his big serve under control. The Serbian will now meet in-form Spaniard Fernando Verdasco.
Verdasco booked his place in the last eight with a 6-4, 7-6 (7/2) win over his compatriot Guillermo Garcia-Lopez.
After turfing out world No. 1 Roger Federer on Tuesday, Latvia’s Ernests Gulbis scrambled past Italian wild-card Filippo Volandri.
■PORSCHE GRAND PRIX
AFP, STUTTGART, GERMANY
Former world No. 1 Justine Henin had to dig deep on Thursday to book a quarter-final clash against Jelena Jankovic in Stuttgart.
Belgium’s Henin looked to be cruising to a win over compatriot Yanina Wickmayer after taking the first set with ease. Having raced to a 5-1 lead in the second, however, Henin faltered, allowing Wickmayer to win the next four games and draw level, before the former world No. 1 rallied and closed out the tie, winning 6-3, 7-5.
Henin will play fourth-seed Jankovic in the quarter-finals after the Serb beat Bulgaria’s Tsvetana Pironkova 6-2, 6-2.
Last year’s runner-up Dinara Safina played her first match since withdrawing from the Australian Open with a back injury, a second-round win over Agnes Szavay.
Safina needed more than two hours to see off her Hungarian opponent 7-6 (7/5), 3-6, 6-0 to set up a quarter-final clash with Israel’s Shahar Peer, but the Russian admitted her back had troubled her.
Top seed and world No. 2 Caroline Wozniacki was the biggest casualty of the day when she crashed out after suffering from a recurring ankle injury. The Danish teenager lost 6-4, 6-4 to Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic in just 66 minutes.
Safarova will play qualifier Anna Lapushchenkova in the quarters after the Russian defeated sixth seed Victoria Azarenka 6-3, 6-3.
Australia’s Samantha Stosur survived a first-set scare to beat Romania’s Alexandra Dulgheru 3-6, 6-0, 6-2 and set up a quarter-final clash with China’s Li Na.
■GRAND PRIX SAR
AP, FEZ, MOROCCO
Romanian teenager Simona Halep reached her first career WTA Tour semi-final by stunning second-seeded Patty Schnyder of Switzerland 6-2, 7-6 (7/3) at the Grand Prix SAR on Thursday.
Renata Voracova of the Czech Republic achieved a similar feat to play in her first semi when she beat fifth-seeded Angelique Kerber of Germany 7-5, 6-2.
Alize Cornet of France and Voracova’s compatriot, Iveta Benesova, also advanced to the last four. Benesova rallied past Laura Pous Tio of Spain 2-6, 6-1, 6-0, while Cornet beat Anne Keothavong of Britain 7-5, 6-2.
New Taipei Kings guard Jeremy Lin on Friday was named the Taiwan Professional Basketball League’s (TPBL) Player of the Month, the first domestic player to win the award, while the Hsinchu Toplus Lioneers are to welcome their third head coach in less than a year. Lin averaged 22 points, 5.4 rebounds and 6.6 assists over five games in October and last month, helping the Kings to second in the standings with a 4-2 record as of Friday. The Kings last night defeated the Lioneers 96-78 to move level with the top-of-the-table Formosa Dreamers (5-2), while in the night game, the New Taipei
‘REMARKABLE’: Gaelic football is a traditional Irish sport that blends the skills of soccer and rugby, and hurling is an ancient sport played with a wooden stick and ‘sliotar’ The Taiwan Celts Gaelic Football Club marked a milestone achievement at the Asian Gaelic Games in Bangkok on Nov. 23 and 24, with two sides advancing to the knockout stages and competing at hurling for the first time. The event brought together 68 teams from 16 clubs across Asia, with more than 800 players in men’s and women’s tournaments. Gaelic football is a traditional Irish team sport that blends the skills of soccer, rugby union and basketball. Hurling is an ancient Irish sport played with a wooden stick, called a hurley, and a small ball, or sliotar. The Taiwan Celts’ women’s team reached
LIVERPOOL WIN: The 50th Champions League goal by Mohamed Salah helped the leaders of the Premier League to keep their perfect record intact Real Madrid’s big stars on Tuesday turned on the style to revive the Spanish giant’s faltering UEFA Champions League title defense. Galacticos Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham all scored in a thrilling 3-2 win against Serie A leaders Atalanta BC. However, Madrid still had to ride their luck as Mateo Retegui fired over from in front of goal in stoppage-time when handed a golden chance to level the game. It was only Madrid’s third win in the competition’s revamped league phase and leaves the 15-time champions in the unseeded playoff positions in 18th place. “It’s a very important win. Not everyone wins
TO NO AVAIL: The Denver Nuggets’ Serbian center Nikola Jokic surpassed his 53-point performance in the 2023 Western Conference semi-finals against Phoenix The Washington Wizards withstood a 56-point explosion from Denver star Nikola Jokic to beat the Nuggets 122-113 on Saturday and snap their 16-game NBA losing streak. Jokic, who won his third NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) award last season, posted a career scoring high — surpassing a 53-point performance in game four of the 2023 Western Conference semi-finals against Phoenix and a 50-point regular-season best against Sacramento in 2021. The Serbian big man added 16 rebounds and eight assists, but it was all to no avail as Washington, buoyed by 39 points from Jordan Poole, won for the first time
RSS