Berdych Stretches For Hot Shot
Pulled wide, Tomas Berdych comes up with backhand magic to sneak the point against the net-rushing Andy Murray in Shanghai. Watch live tennis at http://www.tennistv.com/
Pulled wide, Tomas Berdych comes up with backhand magic to sneak the point against the net-rushing Andy Murray in Shanghai. Watch live tennis at http://www.tennistv.com/
Rafael Nadal’s growing confidence was clear for all to see as the Spaniard dismissed Stan Wawrinka 6-2, 6-1 on Friday to reach the semi-finals of the Shanghai Rolex Masters and claim his 300th win at ATP World Tour Masters 1000 level.
Nadal might not have received the test he expected from a tired Wawrinka, who toiled for almost three hours on Thursday to overcome Marin Cilic. But the left-hander, who reached the Beijing final last week (l. to Djokovic), took full advantage to race to victory in 63 minutes.
“Being in the semi-finals is a great result for me,” said Nadal. “I hadn’t played the semi-finals on hard court all year and now I am playing two weeks in a row in the final rounds. That’s a big improvement for me. In terms of confidence, in terms of level of tennis, I am playing better. Very happy for that because I am working so hard.”
From 2-2 in the first set, Nadal reeled off nine straight games before Wawrinka chalked up a game in the second set to avoid a bagel. Having lost his past two contests with Wawrinka, Nadal improved to a 13-2 lead over the Roland Garros champion in their FedEx ATP Head2Head.
The 29-year-old Nadal has spoken of his desire to finish the 2015 season in the best form possible after some ups and downs during the campaign. As he looks to reach his sixth ATP World Tour final of the season, the Spaniard will face Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, whom he has beaten in eight of their past 11 meetings.
“It is a court that he likes to play on,” said Nadal. “The court is quick. He feels comfortable on these surfaces because he has a huge serve, very, very good forehand. He likes to hit the serve and then hit the forehand and go to the net. He’s a very competitive player. When he’s in the semi-finals it’s because he’s playing well. So it will be a very tough match. I hope to play well, keep doing like every day, playing a little bit better every day. I hope tomorrow to continue with that improvement.”
Nadal is chasing crucial points in the Emirates ATP Race To London as he looks to clinch one of the four remaining spots at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. The Manacor native moved up to sixth in the year-to-date standings after last week’s run in Beijing and is looking to make up ground on fifth-placed Tomas Berdych, who lost to Andy Murray in the quarter-finals.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is through to the semi-finals of the Shanghai Rolex Masters after edging Kevin Anderson 7-6(6), 5-7, 6-4 on Friday.
The Frenchman is bidding to reach his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 final since August 2014, when he defeated Roger Federer to win the Toronto title. In Saturday’s semi-finals he will face Rafael Nadal. Nadal leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head series 8-3, with Tsonga’s last win coming four years ago at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals.
It could have been very different for Tsonga, though, had new Top 10 member Anderson taken his chances in the first set. Trailing 3-6 in the first-set tie-break, Tsonga saved three set points as he reeled off five straight points to sneak the opener.
Anderson did not miss his opportunity in the second set, converting the only break point in the 12th game to level the match. Tsonga quickly regained the lead in the third set, though, breaking for a 2-1 advantage. The Frenchman fended off break back points in the fourth and sixth games before sealing victory in two hours and 41 minutes.
“It was a good match,” said Tsonga. “It was a good level, I think. We both played good tennis. I was really aggressive. I served really, really well today. I moved well. I’m just really happy to win today. It come at the good moment. It’s good to play like this.”
The 29-year-old Anderson was looking to mark his first week in the Top 10 of the Emirates ATP Rankings by reaching his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 semi-final. The South African has a 42-21 record on the season, highlighted by winning his third ATP World Tour title in Winston-Salem (d. Herbert).
The 30-year-old Tsonga is through to the Shanghai semi-finals for the second time (also 2013). He is chasing his second ATP World Tour title in as many months, having triumphed recently at the Moselle Open in Metz (d. Simon). After the first three months of his season were hampered by injury, Tsonga has hit form in the second half of the year, reaching the semi-finals at Roland Garros (l. to Wawrinka) and the quarter-finals at the US Open (l. to Cilic).
“I am really happy to be back at the good level,” said Tsonga. “It’s good things for next year. The most important thing for me now is to stay healthy and continue to play and improve my game.”
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga comes up with a winning backhand pass as Kevin Anderson closes down the net in their Shanghai quarter-final. Watch live tennis at http://www.tennistv.com/
Watch highlights as Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal move on. Watch live tennis at tennistv.com.
Kevin Anderson, the newest member of the Top-10, reflects on his recent form.
Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah duplicated their recent success against World No. 1s Bob and Mike Bryan on Thursday in Shanghai. The unseeded Colombians rallied to take out the top-seeded Americans 6-7(1), 7-6(7), 10-7 to reach the quarter-finals.
For the Bryans, it was a second setback against Cabal/Farah in as many weeks, the Californians having dropped a Match Tie-break in the round of 16 against the eventual Tokyo finalists just a few days ago. They were up a set and a break, then held match point at 6/5 in the second-set tie-break, but saw their opponents roar back to take the match. The top seeds made eight of nine first serves in the Match Tie-break, but dropped four of nine service points to bow out in one hour and 51 minutes.
The Bryans currently lead the way with 6,285 Emirates ATP Doubles Race To London points and are closely pursued by Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau (5,950 points). However, the second-ranked team will not be making up ground in the Race To London this week, as it was sent packing by Feliciano Lopez and Max Mirnyi 7-5, 7-5 in 78 minutes on Thursday. Lopez/Mirnyi only made 62 per cent of first serves compared to their opponents’ 72 per cent, but had twice as many break point chances (10-5) and breaks of serve (4-2).
In the quarter-finals, Cabal/Farah will take on No. 7 Daniel Nestor/Edouard Roger-Vasselin, while Lopez/Mirnyi will face No. 8 Rohan Bopanna/Lukasz Kubot.
Rafael Nadal’s Asian swing gathered further momentum on Thursday with the eighth seed posting a 6-3, 7-6(3) triumph over Canada’s Milos Raonic at the Shanghai Rolex Masters. After reaching his first hard-court final of the season last week in Beijing, Nadal registered his first win over a Top-10 opponent in six attempts to reach the quarter-finals. His last was against World No. 7 Tomas Berdych at ATP Masters 1000 Madrid.
The 2009 Shanghai runner-up broke Raonic’s opening service game for 2-0 when the No. 9 seed fired a forehand well wide. He maintained the advantage to serve out the opening set with Raonic dumping a backhand return into the net on set point.
“Today, I felt that I was not playing with as much nerves when I am on court,” said Nadal. “I was able to enjoy the match.”
Nadal scored the early mini-break in the second-set tie-break for 1/0. He surged to 5/2 and whipped a forehand passing shot winner to bring up four match points. He secured the match on his second chance when Raonic’s forehand hit the net. The win extended Nadal’s FedEx ATP Head2Head record against Raonic to 6-1 and avenges a quarter-final defeat the last time the pair met at ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells this year.
“Winning a match 7‑6 in the third yesterday and winning a match again today in the tiebreak of a second set, two tiebreaks without losing a point with my serve, it’s impossible if you don’t have control of your emotions. That’s something that, a couple of months ago, would have been impossible for me,” added Nadal.
“My serve obviously worked much better than yesterday, but when I play well on my service game, it’s not just because I serve well, but especially because I play well from the baseline,” said Nadal, who has not dropped serve since being broken by Ivo Karlovic in the opening game of the second round.
Nadal’s quarter-final foe will be Stan Wawrinka, who needed nearly three hours to overcome Marin Cilic, 7-5, 6-7(7), 6-4. The Swiss came away with the first set by break his opponent on the final point, but squandered a match point in the second-set tie-break before closing out the win in three. The Spaniard leads the rivalry 12-2, but Wawrinka has not dropped a set in the pair’s past two meetings (2015 Rome and 2015 Australian Open).
Past legends and current stars come together to celebrate Asian tennis.
Rafael Nadal hits not one, not two, but three incredible returns in succession to break Ivo Karlovic at a crucial stage in the first set of their Shanghai second-round contest.