Rio Open: Thiem upsets Ferrer to enter semis, Nadal gets walkover

Rafael Nadal advanced to the semifinals of the Rio Open on Friday without hitting a shot, while No 5 Dominic Thiem upset No 2 David Ferrer 6-3, 6-2.

Austria’s Dominic Thiem upset Spain’s David Ferrer to enter the semifinals of the Rio Open on Friday while Rafael Nadal advanced without hitting a shot.

Dominic Thiem (L) of Austria shakes hands with David Ferrer of Spain after the former won 6-3, 6-2 at the Rio Open in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Februrary 19, 2016. (AFP Photo)

No 5 Thiem upset No 2 Ferrer 6-3, 6-2. The 22-year-old Austrian won the Buenos Aires title last week — beating Nadal in the semifinals and Spaniard Nicolas Almagro in the final — and is the youngest player in the ATP’s top 20 rankings.

In the semis, Thiem will face Argentinian Guido Pella, who defeated Daniel Gimeno-Traver of Spain 5-7, 6-1, 7-5, but Thiem will be a strong favourite to reach the final.

The top-seeded Nadal moved on after his quarterfinal opponent Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine withdrew before the clay-court match with a shoulder injury.

Tournament organisers said Dolgopolov hurt his shoulder in a doubles match on Thursday.

Nadal’s semifinal opponent will be Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay, who defeated Federico Delbonis of Argentina 6-4, 7-6 (4). The match was delayed for two-and-a-half hours with Delbonis leading 4-2 in the second set.

On the women’s side of the ATP-WTA event, Petra Martic of Croatia defeated No. 6 Lara Arruabarrena 6-4, 5-7, 7-5 to reach the semifinals.

In another upset, Sorana Cirstea of Romania defeated No. 3 Danka Kovinic 6-1, 6-2 to eliminate the last seeded player from the tournament.