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Nadal in Fish net
Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer, numbers two and three in the world, suffered surprise defeats to inspired opponents in an entertaining quarterfinals day at the Cincinnati Open on Friday.
Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer, numbers two and three in the world, suffered surprise defeats to inspired opponents in an entertaining quarterfinals day at the Cincinnati Open on Friday.
To the delight of a packed home crowd, American hard court specialist Mardy Fish beat Nadal for the first time in his career, 6-3, 6-4, to book a spot in the semifinals where he will face Britain's Andy Murray.
Then Federer was undone 6-2,7-6(3) by Czech Tomas Berdych, who after beating him twice last year is becoming something of a bogeyman for the Swiss.
Berdych will face world number one Novak Djokovic, who survived an early scare against France's Gael Monfils before recovering to win 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 and extending his season record to 56-1.
Jankovic reaches semifinals
Serbia's Jelena Jankovic advanced to the semifinals on a walkover on Friday as China's Peng Shuai pulled out of their quarterfinal clash.
Peng withdrew with a left hip injury, tournament organizers said.
In the semifinals, Jankovic will face Germany's Andrea Petkovic, a 7-5, 6-1 winner over Russian Nadia Petrova.
The other semifinal will be an all-Russian affair between fourth-seeded Maria Sharapova and second-seeded Vera Zvonareva.
Clijsters pulls out of US Open
The US Open has lost three-time (and two-time defending) champ Kim Clijsters, who told tournament officials on Friday that she'd be unable to take part in the season's final major because of a strained abdominal muscle. "Two weeks of rehab was not enough to heal this injury," Clijsters said in a statement released by the US Tennis Association.
