TENNIS:Top seed Rafael Nadal beat Russian Mikhail Youzhny 6-4, 6-4 in a bruising encounter yesterday to reach the semi-finals of the Qatar Open.
Nadal hit a series of blistering winners but his opponent refused to be overawed and broke the Spaniard in the second set.
However, Nadal survived the mini setback and showed he was ready to stake a claim for the Australian Open title later this month. Nadal will play Frenchman Gael Monfils for a place in the final. The Frenchman beat Serbian fifth seed Viktor Troicki 6-2, 6-3. Roger Federer will take on Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the other last-four match.
After squandering two break points in the opening game against Youzhny, Nadal made no mistake a couple of games later.
He dragged Youzny into a gruelling rally and pumped his fists in delight as the tiring Russian slugged a backhand into the net. In the second set, the Russian seventh seed was left frustrated as he failed to convert a string of break points. He allowed Nadal to gallop into a 4-1 lead.
Former top 10 player Youzhny clawed back one of the breaks which closed the gap to 4-5.
However, Nadal clinched victory with a volley winner.
Earlier defending champion Federer won a 20th straight match by beating Andreas Seppi 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 in the quarter-finals to set up a final four meeting with Tsonga.
BRISBANE INTERNATIONAL: Kim Clijsters avoided following US Open champion Sam Stosur out of the tournament when she beat Iveta Benesova 6-3, 6-2 yesterday to advance to the semi-finals.
Benesova had beaten top seed Stosur on Wednesday but yesterday the 28-year-old Belgian refused to let her repeat that feat by racing to a 5-1 lead and then, after tightening up a little to allow the Czech to narrow the gap, serving out 6-3. Clisjters made short work of the second set, with Benesova holding her first service game before the four-times grand slam champion won the next five games to again have a 5-1 lead.
Benesova finally held her serve again in the seventh game but it only delayed the inevitable.
Estonia’s Kaia Kanepi earlier provided the upset of the quarter-finals when she beat second seed and world number 10 Andrea Petkovic 6-1, 7-6. Kanepi had been cruising but needed five match points to seal the win as her German opponent offered some late resistance.
Third-seed Francesca Schiavone had earlier ground down former world number one Jelena Jankovic 5-7, 7-6, 6-3 in a quarter-final that lasted almost three hours as both players squandered match point opportunities. Jankovic wasted two in the second set, while Schiavone also squandered two in the third.
Slovakia’s Daniela Hantuchova had a walkover into the semi-finals after Serena Williams withdrew on Wednesday with an ankle injury.
In the men’s draw, Gilles Simon overcame Santiago Giraldo 7-6, 6-4 in the quarter-finals.
AUCKLAND CLASSIC: Former world number two Svetlana Kuznetsova cemented her title credentials with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Italy's Sara Errani in the quarter-finals yesterday.
The 2004 US Open and 2009 French Open champion overpowered her opponent to set up a semi-final against Zheng Jie.
Kuznetsova’s potential march to the title was also made easier when top seed Sabine Lisicki was forced out of the tournament with an abdominal injury suffered during her quarter-final against fellow German Angelique Kerber. Kerber will meet fourth seed Flavia Pennetta in the semi-finals after the Italian accounted for Russia’s Elena Vesnina, 6-2, 6-1.
China’s Zheng also seemed to waste little effort in overcoming Lucie Hradecka 6-2. 6-3.
HOPMAN CUP:Richard Gasquet maintained his unbeaten record to help guide France into the Hopman Cup final yesterday before vowing to adopt a more attacking approach in a bid to shake up the established order in men's tennis. Gasquet eased to a 6-2, 6-4 win over Spain's Fernando Verdasco shortly after Marion Bartoli had got the French ball rolling with an identical scoreline victory over Anabel Medina Garrigues in the singles matches of the mixed-team event tie. The mixed doubles was not played because the French had already won Group B.
