Real Madrid’s Portuguese striker Cristiano Ronaldo (right) and his girlfriend, Russian model Irina Shayk, attend the Madrid Open quarter final match between Spanish player Rafael Nadal and his compatriot David Ferrer at the Caja Magica tennis centre in Madrid, central Spain, yesterday.
MADRID: Rafael Nadal overcame a stiff test from compatriot David Ferrer to reach the Madrid Masters semi-finals yesterday while Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova stayed on course for a mouth-watering title showdown.
World number five Nadal pulled off a roller-coaster 4-6, 7-6 (7/3), 6-0 win over world number four Ferrer.
Despite being seeded above Nadal, due to the seven-time French Open winner’s seven-month injury lay-off, Ferrer was still left nursing a record of just four wins in their 22 meetings.
“If you don’t take your chances against Rafa, you pay a dearly. Against Rafa, Novak, Roger or Murray there’s no room for error,” admitted Ferrer.
However, the fourth seed didn’t seem overawed early on as after both players exchanged early breaks, Ferrer closed out the opening set when a fine crosscourt forehand set up an easy volleyed winner in the 10th game.
Ferrer then looked on course to cause another upset after the surprise defeats of the world’s top two, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, when he moved 4-2 up in the second. However, Nadal swiftly broke back to level the set and then took it on the tie-break 7/3.
And there was no stopping the 11-time Grand Slam winner thereafter as he stormed through the third 6-0 to set up a semi-final meeting with Federer’s conqueror Kei Nishikori or Pablo Andujar.
In the women’s event, Williams and Sharapova stayed on course for a battle for the world number one slot in the final as they progressed into the last four with wins over Anabel Medina Garrigues and Kaia Kanepi respectively.
However, current number one Williams was given a huge scare by 30-year-old wildcard Garrigues before battling through 6-3, 0-6, 7-5. The American hadn’t dropped a set all tournament until the Spaniard romped through the second set and Williams admitted she had to fight to up her intensity levels heading into the decider.
In an uncharacteristically wild performance, Williams racked up nearly 50 unforced errors throughout the nearly two and a quarter hours of play, and she is determined to start afresh when she faces Sara Errani in the semi-finals today.
There were far fewer problems for Sharapova as she continued her run of not losing a set so far in the Spanish capital with a comfortable 6-2, 6-4 win over world number 51 Kanepi.
Ivanovic sealed her place in the last four with a 6-3, 6-1 win over sixth seed Angelique Kerber, whilst seventh seed Errani ended Ekaterina Makarova’s fine tournament, 6-4, 6-3. AFP
