Nadal, upstart Tsonga reach Oz Open semis

Melbourne, Australia (Sports Network) - Second-seeded Spaniard Rafael Nadal and unseeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga were a pair of quarterfinal winners Tuesday at the 2008 Australian Open.

Nadal prevailed in a tough first set on Day 9 on his way to a 7-5, 6-3, 6-1 decision against 24th-seeded Finn Jarkko Nieminen. The match lasted 2 hours, 19 minutes, as Nadal landed in his first-ever Aussie Open semifinal by breaking Nieminen's serve six times, compared to only one break in eight break-point chances for the overmatched Finn.

"It's a good moment for me -- being my first semifinals on hardcourt at a Grand Slam," Nadal said.

The three-time French Open champion and two-time Wimbledon runner-up Nadal is now 4-0 lifetime against Nieminen.

Nadal's final four opponent here will be Tsonga, who erased 14th-seeded Russian Mikhail Youzhny 7-5, 6-0, 7-6 (8-6) to secure a berth in his first- ever Grand Slam semi. Tsonga is the first unseeded French semifinalist here since Nicolas Escude turned the trick 10 years ago.

The talented 22-year-old Tsonga advanced in 2 hours, 17 minutes, as he swatted eight aces and did not allow Youzhny to enjoy even one break-point opportunity at Melbourne Park. The 38th-ranked Frenchman broke his Russian counterpart four times and looks like he could really challenge Nadal in the round of four.

The hot Tsonga stunned his eighth-seeded countryman Richard Gasquet here in the fourth round and took out ninth-seeded Brit Andy Murray in the opening round last week.

On Wednesday, top-seeded Swiss superstar Roger Federer will meet 12th-seeded American James Blake and third-seeded Serbian Novak Djokovic will take on fifth-seeded Spaniard David Ferrer to wrap up the quarterfinals. Federer is the reigning two-time and three-time overall Aussie Open champ.

The 12-time major titlist Federer is a flawless 7-0 lifetime versus Blake, including a couple of Grand Slam match wins at the U.S. Open. Ferrer is 3-2 all-time against Djokovic, with the players splitting four meetings in 2007.

Nadal eases into Aussie quarters; Davydenko out

Melbourne, Australia (Sports Network) - Rafael Nadal easily moved into the Australian Open quarterfinals on Sunday when Paul-Henri Mathieu retired in the second set of their fourth-round match, but Nikolay Davydenko was among the upset victims as the first week of the year's first major concluded.

The second-seeded Nadal had built a 6-4, 3-0 lead when Mathieu called it quits for what appeared to be a calf problem. The 23rd-seeded Frenchman twice received treatment in the first set, then decided he couldn't continue after dropping serve twice in the second.

Nadal will next meet Finland's Jarkko Nieminen in the quarterfinals. Nieminen knocked off Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber, 3-6, 7-6 (9-7), 7-6 (11-9), 6-3. Kohlschreiber had eliminated sixth-seeded American Andy Roddick in his last match and was coming off a title in Auckland last week.

Nieminen, seeded 24th, saved a combined 11 set points between the second and third sets before advancing.

"Set points down, I saw myself winning," said Nieminen. "I was thinking really positive."

Davydenko, the fourth seed, was sent home by fellow Russian Mikhail Youzhny. The 14th-seeded Youzhny won a tough first set and cruised the rest of the way in a 7-6 (7-2), 6-3, 6-1 victory.

Youzhny has just one appearance past the quarterfinals at a Grand Slam event, reaching the semis at the 2006 U.S. Open.

Up next for Youzhny will be Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who upended eighth- seeded countryman Richard Gasquet, 6-2, 6-7 (5-7), 7-6 (8-6), 6-3. Gasquet is the second top-10 ranked player Tsonga has beaten at this event, as he began the tournament with an upset victory over world No. 9 Andy Murray.

"It's good for me, because it's lot of confidence to beat a player like that," Tsonga said of beating Gasquet. "He's very good. And for me, it was a test, you know. When you beat somebody like this, you know you can beat a lot of guys."

Due to the rain on Saturday, a couple of third-round matches were pushed back to Sunday.

Fifth-seeded David Ferrer continued his strong run with a 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 win over American Vince Spadea. Ferrer's fourth-round opponent will be fellow Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero, as the 22nd seed upended 10th-seeded Argentine David Nalbandian, 6-1, 6-2, 6-3.

"It's going to be a special match. We know each other," said Ferrero. "We live in the same place. So we practice a lot of times together. We are so good friends."

Ferrer and Ferrero will play on Monday, as the fourth round concludes with four matches. The other three will include a trio of players who needed five sets to win in the third round.

Among those is top-seeded Roger Federer, who will take on 13th-seeded Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic. The Swiss superstar escaped with a 10-8 fifth set victory over Serbia's Janko Tipsarevic on Saturday.

American James Blake also went the distance on Saturday, rallying from two sets down and a 1-4 deficit in the third set to beat France's Sebastien Grosjean. The 12th-seeded Blake will take on Croatia's Marin Cilic on Monday.

Crowd favorite Lleyton Hewitt will open the Monday night session after finishing his third-round marathon against Marcos Baghdatis just past 4:30 a.m. local time on Sunday morning. Hewitt, the 19th seed, needed four hours and 45 minutes to dispose of the 2006 Australian Open finalist, and will take on third-seeded Serbian Novak Djokovic on Monday.

Youzhny shocks Nadal in Chennai final

Chennai, India (Sports Network) - Russian Mikhail Youzhny stunned top-seeded Rafael Nadal in straight sets to win the Chennai Open final on Sunday.
The fourth-seeded Youzhny blitzed Nadal from the outset and was never threatened in an easy 6-0, 6-1 victory.
It was the fourth career singles title for Youzhny, who is ranked 19th in the world. He won once last year at Rotterdam and was also a finalist twice in 2007.
Nadal, who had a banner 2007 campaign with six titles, was attempting to garner his 24th career crown. But, the Spaniard looked lost from the start and was clearly suffering the effects of his grueling four-hour semifinal win over fellow Spaniard Carlos Moya on Saturday.
The 25-year-old Youzhny upended Nadal for the fourth time in 10-career matchups and snapped a three-match skid against Nadal.

Nadal, Djokovic both lose at Masters Cup

Shanghai, China (Sports Network) - Two of the world's top-three players suffered round-robin losses on Tuesday, as Rafael Nadal succumbed to fellow Spaniard David Ferrer and Serbian Novak Djokovic gave way to Frenchman Richard Gasquet at the $3.7 million Tennis Masters Cup.
A sixth-seeded Ferrer secured a berth in Saturday's semifinals here by coming from behind to beat the second-seeded Nadal 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, while the eighth- seeded Gasquet whipped a third-seeded Djokovic 6-4, 6-2. Nadal is the reigning three-time French Open champion and Wimbledon runner-up, while Djokovic was this year's U.S. Open runner-up.
Ferrer ran out to a 5-1 third-set lead against Nadal here on Day 3 and ultimately prevailed in 2 hours, 40 minutes. Ferrer managed to record one more service break than Nadal, as he piled up a whopping six en route to the big victory at this exclusive eight-player event.
The 25-year-old Ferrer has now won his last two matches against Nadal, with the other win coming in four-set come-from-behind fashion in the fourth round at the U.S. Open in September.
Ferrer stunned Djokovic here on Sunday.
Gasquet opened the evening by dousing Djokovic in 1 hour, 25 minutes, as the Frenchman piled up five breaks, compared to only two for his Serbian counterpart. Gasquet wound up winning 19 more points (64-45) than the struggling Djokovic.
Ferrer currently leads this week's Gold Group with a perfect 2-0 record, while Nadal and Gasquet are both 1-1 and Djokovic has been eliminated from semifinal contention at 0-2 on the indoor hardcourt here at Qi Zhong Stadium.
This week's Red Group features world No. 1 Roger Federer (0-1), fourth-seeded Russian Nikolay Davydenko (0-1), fifth-seeded American Andy Roddick (1-0) and seventh-seeded Chilean Fernando Gonzalez, who lost to Federer in this year's Australian Open finale, but stunned the supreme Swiss in round-robin action here on Monday. Federer had been a perfect 15-0 in his Masters Cup round-robin matches since 2002.
The 12-time major champion Federer will still finish the year at No. 1 for a fourth straight year. The super Swiss is the reigning U.S. Open, Wimbledon, Aussie Open and Masters Cup titlist and French Open runner-up. He defeated American James Blake in last year's finale here in Shanghai and is seeking his fourth Masters Cup title in five years.
The Masters Cup features round-robin action for the first six days, with the top-two players from each group advancing to the semifinals on Saturday. The lucrative final will be staged here on Sunday.
An undefeated champion in Shanghai would collect over $1.5 million.

Nadal, Ferrer win Masters Cup openers

Shanghai, China (Sports Network) - Rafael Nadal recovered from a shaky start to best Frenchman Richard Gasquet in the opening match at the Tennis Masters Cup on Sunday.
The French Open champion dropped the first set to Gasquet but steadied himself over the final two frames to win, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, on the indoor hardcourt at Shanghai's state-of-the-art Qi Zhong Stadium. Nadal, the World No. 2, has now beaten Gasquet four consecutive times in his career.
Later, David Ferrer upset Serbia's Novak Djokovic in the second Gold Group match, making it a perfect day for Spain. The underrated Ferrer doused Djokovic in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4.
Swiss great Roger Federer, who headlines the Red Group, is the defending champion here and starts his bid for a fourth Masters Cup title in five years on Monday.
The top-seeded/world No. 1 Federer is joined in a very tough Red Group by No. 4 Russian Nikolay Davydenko, No. 5 American Andy Roddick and No. 7 Chilean Fernando Gonzalez.
The 2007 Masters Cup features round-robin action for the first six days, with the top-two players from each group advancing to the semifinals on Saturday, November 17. The lucrative finale will be staged on Sunday, November 18.
An undefeated champion in Shanghai would collect over $1.5 million.
The reigning Wimbledon, U.S. Open and Australian Open titlist Federer defeated American James Blake in last year's Masters Cup finale, giving him his third title in four years at this event. Federer is the only former champion in this year's exclusive eight-man field and 22-2 for his career at this tournament.
Federer beat Gonzalez in this year's Aussie Open final, topped Nadal in the Wimbledon title bout, bested Djokovic in the U.S. Open finale and lost to Nadal in the French Open championship match.

Round-robin groups revealed for Tennis Masters Cup

Shanghai, China (Sports Network) - The two four-man groups for next week's season-ending Tennis Masters Cup were announced on Wednesday, as Swiss great Roger Federer will head up the Red Group, while powerful Spaniard Rafael Nadal spearheads the Gold Group. Federer is the defending champion.
The top-seeded/world No. 1 Federer is joined in a very tough Red Group by No. 4 Russian Nikolay Davydenko, No. 5 American Andy Roddick and No. 7 Chilean Fernando Gonzalez, while the second-seeded Nadal is joined in the Gold quartet by No. 3 Serbian Novak Djokovic, No. 6 Spaniard David Ferrer and No. 8 Frenchman Richard Gasquet. Spain will be the only country with more than one participant this year (Nadal and Ferrer).
Round-robin play will commence Sunday on the indoor hardcourt at Shanghai's state-of-the-art Qi Zhong Stadium, with two matches on the docket. The French Open champion Nadal will open up against Gasquet, while the nightcap will pit Djokovic versus Ferrer.
The 2007 Masters Cup will feature round-robin action for the first six days, with the top-two players from each group advancing to the semifinals on Saturday, November 17. The lucrative finale will be staged on Sunday, November 18. An undefeated champion in Shanghai would collect over $1.5 million.
The reigning Wimbledon, U.S. Open and Australian Open titlist Federer defeated American James Blake in last year's Masters Cup finale, giving him his third title in four years at this event. Federer is the only former champion in this year's exclusive eight-man field and 22-2 for his career at this tournament.
Federer beat Gonzalez in this year's Aussie Open final, topped Nadal in the Wimbledon title bout, bested Djokovic in the U.S. Open finale and lost to Nadal in the French Open championship match.

Nadal ends Baghdatis' run; Gasquet loses but reaches Masters Cup

Paris, France (Sports Network) - Rafael Nadal rallied from a set down to beat Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus in Saturday's opening semifinal match at the Paris Masters.
The second-seeded Nadal earned a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory to reach the final, where he will play Argentina's David Nalbandian, a 6-2, 6-4 winner over 10th- seeded Frenchman Richard Gasquet in the day's second semifinal.
Not only did Nadal eliminate Baghdatis, but he also ended the Cypriot's run toward a possible berth in the season-ending Tennis Masters Cup. Baghdatis needed to win this tournament and not have Gasquet reach the final to qualify for the elite eight-man tournament that starts November 11 in Shanghai.
Instead, Gasquet completed the field before even taking the court Saturday.
Baghdatis' setback turned out to be good for Gasquet, as Nalbandian needed just 68 minutes to move into his second straight Masters final. He beat Roger Federer for the Madrid Masters title last month, also toppling Nadal in the quarterfinals on his way to that crown.
Gasquet will be joined in the lucrative season-finale by Federer, Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Nikolay Davydenko, Andy Roddick, David Ferrer and Fernando Gonzalez.
Nadal, meanwhile, is in position to claim his seventh title of 2007 and the 24th of his brilliant young career. The 21-year-old Spaniard has also won at Indian Wells, Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Rome, Roland Garros and Stuttgart this year.
Sunday will mark his first final since capturing the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart in July. He had lost in the semifinals at the Montreal Masters, the second round of the Cincinnati Masters, the fourth round of the U.S. Open and, most recently, the quarterfinals at the Madrid Masters.
Nalbandian has become a giant killer of late.
After beating Nadal in the quarterfinals at Madrid, Nalbandian went on to knock off Djokovic in the semifinals and Federer in the title match. He became just the third player in ATP history to beat the world's top three players in the same event, joining the great Boris Becker, who did it in 1994, and Djokovic, who accomplished the feat at the Montreal Masters this year.
Nalbandian also beat Federer this week, eliminating the world's top-ranked player in the third round on Thursday.
The Madrid crown marked Nalbandian's only title of 2007 and the sixth of his career.
He is 1-0 lifetime against Nadal, with the 6-1, 6-2 rout of the Spanish lefty in Madrid the only previous meeting.
Sunday's winner will claim a first prize of $491,412, while the runner-up will pocket $245,706.

Nadal advances to Paris semifinals

Paris, France (Sports Network) - Rafael Nadal was among the quarterfinal winners on Friday in the Paris Masters.
The second-seeded Nadal continued his quest for the title at the $2.45 million tournament with an easy 6-4, 6-2 victory over Russian Mikhail Youzhny.
Nadal has yet to lose a set during his two matches in his first appearance at this hard court event and is seeking to win his seventh title this season.
"It was an important match for me to be in the semifinals after the US Open," said Nadal. "Especially after Montreal. I'm so happy to come back and play one tournament like this. The last two matches have been very good, very good matches for me."
The Spaniard is the highest remaining seed after world No. 1 Roger Federer was defeated by Argentine David Nalbandian in the third round on Thursday.
Nalbandian followed up his surprising victory over the top-seeded Federer, with a 7-6 (7-3), 6-7 (3-7), 6-2 win over fifth-seeded Spaniard David Ferrer on Friday. He is out of the Masters Cup race, but is on track to win his second straight Masters title.
Nalbandian will next face Frenchmen Richard Gasquet, who defeated Andy Murray of Great Britain, 6-3, 0-6, 6-4.
The win kept Gasquet's Masters Cup hopes alive, but ended Murray's chance of playing in Shanghai.
Ferrer wasn't the only Spaniard toppled Friday as eighth-seeded Tommy Robredo was defeated, 6-4, 6-4, by Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis, who kept his slim chances of qualifying for the Masters Cup alive with the win.
Baghdatis, who will face Nadal on Saturday, is in the semifinals for his second consecutive event.

Djokovic advances, Nadal upset at U.S. Open

Flushing Meadows, NY (Sports Network) - Third-seeded Serb Novak Djokovic survived his fourth-round match with Argentine Juan Monaco, while second- seeded Rafael Nadal fell to fellow Spaniard David Ferrer at the U.S. Open on Tuesday.
Nadal, the reigning three-time French Open champ and two-time Wimbledon runner-up, won a first-set tiebreaker with Ferrer, seeded 15th, before dropping the next three and losing 6-7 (3-7), 6-4, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2 at Ashe Stadium on the grounds of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
Nadal, who was hobbled by injuries, has not advanced past the quarterfinal round of the U.S. Open. Ferrer advances to take on Argentine slugger Juan Ignacio Chela.
Although Ferrer/Nadal's match lasted three hours and 28 minutes, Djokovic's 7-5, 7-6 (7-2), 6-7 (6-8), 6-1 win over Argentine Juan Monaco topped that at just under four hours.
Djokovic reached the semifinals at the French Open and Wimbledon and captured Masters Series titles in Miami and Montreal this season. Up next for Djokovic is 17th-seeded Carlos Moya, who got past rising Latvian teenager Ernests Gulbis 7-5, 6-2, 6-7 (5-7), 6-4.
The Spanish veteran moved on in 2 hours, 25 minutes with the help of five service breaks. The talented Gulbis, who turned 19 here last week, launched 13 aces, but also piled up 64 unforced errors on Day 9.
The 31-year-old Moya, the oldest player still standing here, will appear in his first U.S. Open quarterfinal in nine years. This also marks his second quarterfinal appearance of 2007, as the resurgent former world No. 1 reached the round of eight at Roland Garros, where he captured his lone major title back in 1998.
Chela landed in his first-ever U.S. Open quarterfinal by outlasting capable Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka in five sets, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (8-6), 1-6, 6-4 in the round of 16.
Chela advanced in 3 hours, 41 minutes by converting on his second match point on another beautiful day in New York. The sloppy match featured 15 service breaks, including eight by the Swiss, and 117 unforced errors, including 68 by the loser. Wawrinka piled up 36 more winners than Chela (65-29), but also misfired for 19 more errors.
The 20th-seeded Chela, who turned 28 here last week, has reached only one other Grand Slam quarterfinal, and that came at Roland Garros three years ago.
On Wednesday, American Andy Roddick will square off against world No. 1 Roger Federer. Federer is the reigning three-time U.S. Open champ and also holds the Wimbledon and Aussie Open titles. The 11-time major titlist Federer is 13-1 lifetime against Roddick, with Roddick's lone victory coming four years ago. Federer beat the 2003 titlist Roddick in last year's finale here.

Nadal cruises into fourth round at the Open

Flushing Meadows, NY (Sports Network) - Spaniard Rafael Nadal rebounded from a tough first set to earn a straight-set victory, 7-6 (7-3), 6-2, 6-1, over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Sunday at the U.S. Open.
Nadal, the second seed in the tournament, downed France's Tsonga to reach the fourth round of the Open.
Also advancing on Sunday was Nadal's countryman David Ferrer, the 15th seed, who outlasted 24th-seeded David Nalbandian of Argentina, 6-3, 3-6, 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 7-5. Juan Ignacio Chela, Nalbandian's countryman, did not suffer a similar fate, as he upended Croatian Ivan Ljubicic, the No. 12 seed, 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 2-6, 6-3, 6-3.
Juan Monaco, the 23rd-seed, also advanced, downed Agustin Calleri 7-6 (7-5), 6-2, 6-4, in an all-Argentinian third-round matchup.

Stanislas Wawrinka wins Mercedes Cup

Stuttgart, Germany (Sports Network) - Rafael Nadal continued his amazing success on clay with a straight-set victory over Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka in the final of the Mercedes Cup.
The top-seeded Nadal was pushed by the unseeded Wawrinka, but still had enough to pull out a 6-4, 7-5 triumph for his sixth title of 2007 and the 23rd of his brilliant career. He also won this tournament in 2005.
Despite the straight-set scores, Wawrinka was ahead in both sets. Nadal had to win the last three games of the first set, then trailed 2-5 in the second before rallying to win the final five games.
Nadal has now won 93 of his last 94 matches on clay, with his only loss in that span a setback to world No. 1 Roger Federer in a final at Hamburg in May. Of course, Nadal avenged that setback a few weeks later by beating Federer in the French Open final for his third straight championship at Roland Garros.
This was the Spanish sensation's first tournament since losing to Federer in the final at Wimbledon. Nadal improved to 18-1 lifetime in clay finals and 23-5 in finals on all surfaces.
Wawrinka was trying for his second career ATP title and first since capturing last year's tournament in Umag. He was also a runner-up two years ago in Gstaad.
This was just the second meeting between the two, with Nadal also winning at this year's Australian Open.

Nadal moves into Stuttgart final

Stuttgart, Germany (Sports Network) - Top-seeded Rafael Nadal advanced to the final at the Mercedes Cup after posting a victory in the semifinals on Saturday.
Nadal, who won this title in 2005, defeated fellow Spaniard Feliciano Lopez, 6-1, 7-5. Nadal has now won 92 of his last 93 matches on clay and is aiming for his sixth title of the year and 23rd overall.
Nadal will meet Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland in Sunday's final after Wawrinka upset seventh-seeded Juan Ignacio Chela of Argentina 6-7 (2-7), 6-4, 6-1.
Wawrinka has just one ATP title to his credit, capturing the crown last year in Umag.
Nadal and Wawrinka have met just once before with the Spaniard winning at this year's Australian Open.

Nadal, Ferrer cruise in Mercedes Cup openers

Stuttgart, Germany (Sports Network) - Spaniards Rafael Nadal and defending champion David Ferrer were among the first-round winners Tuesday at the Mercedes Cup.
The top-seeded Nadal rolled to a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Germany's Alexander Waske, while the fourth-seeded Ferrer breezed past Slovakian qualifier Lukas Lacko, 6-2, 6-2.
It was total domination for Nadal, who needed just 73 minutes to advance. The Spaniard, who won this title in 2005, saved both break points he faced and went on to improve to 27-1 on clay this year. He has won 89 of his last 90 matches on the slow surface.
Ferrer, meanwhile, won in just 51 minutes. He is coming off a victory last week at the clay tournament in Bastad.
Third-seeded Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic also eased into the second round with a 6-1, 6-1 triumph over Nicolas Lapentti of Ecuador, while Spain's Juan Carlos Ferrero and Argentines Juan Ignacio Chela and Juan Monaco were other seeded winners.
The sixth-seeded Ferrero trounced Argentina's Gaston Gaudio, 6-1, 6-2, while the seventh-seeded Chela earned a 6-3, 6-3 win over Max Mirnyi of Belarus. The eighth-seeded Monaco had little trouble in a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Jan Hernych of the Czech Republic.
Fifth-seeded Guillermo Canas of Argentina was forced to retire in the third set of his match against Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka. A right thigh injury forced Canas to stop after Wawrinka had won the first game of the decisive set.
Stefan Koubek of Austria, Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber, Spain's Feliciano Lopez and Diego Hartfield of Argentina were also winners Tuesday.
Kohlschreiber's win earned him a second-round matchup with Nadal.