The Hindu : Sport / Tennis : Rafael Nadal in last four

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Mar 03, 2006

Sport

Sport - Tennis

Rafael Nadal in last four

DUBAI: World No. 2 Rafael Nadal withstood a strong first set challenge before defeating Britain's Tim Henman 7-6(1), 6-1 to reach the semifinals of the Dubai Open tennis tournament on Thursday.

Henman, 31, showed considerable class against the Spanish teenager, but he lacked consistency and was ultimately overpowered even though he held the advantage early in both sets.

Russia's Mikhail Youzhny reached his first semifinal of the year and a possible meeting with Roger Federer when he overwhelmed Olivier Rochus of Belgium 6-3, 6-1.

Agassi loses

Eight-time Grand Slam winner Andre Agassi lost to 80th-ranked Bjorn Phau of Germany 7-5, 7-5 in the second round of the Dubai Open on Wednesday.

Bhupathi-Moodie out

In doubles play, Mahesh Bhupathi and Wesley Moodie crashed out in the first round against Paul Hanley and Kevin Ullyett 7-6(3), 6-2.

Tejesvi in quarterfinals

V. Tejesvi Rao of India moved into the quarterfinals of singles and doubles (under-18) in the ITF Grade III Malaysian international junior tennis tournament on Thursday.

Tejesvi defeated Huang Hsu-Chun of Taipei 6-4, 6-2 in the singles and then combined with Siddarth Alapati to down Rawi of Malaysia and Yeo of Malaysia 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 in the doubles.

Important results:

At Dubai (Dubai Duty Free Open): Singles: Quarterfinals: Mikhail Youzhny bt Olivier Rochus 6-3, 6-1; Rafael Nadal bt Tim Henman 7-6(1), 6-1. Second round: Bjorn Phau bt Andre Agassi 7-5, 7-5; Tim Henman bt Radek Stepanek 7-5, 2-6, 7-6(3).

Doubles: First round: Paul Hanley & Kevin Ullyett bt Mahesh Bhupathi & Wesley Moodie 7-6(3), 6-2.

At Doha: Second round: Ai Sugiyama bt Anastasia Myskina 7-6(2), 6-7(6), 6-4; Svetlana Kuznetsova bt Maria Kirilenko 6-4, 7-6(4); Martina Hingis bt Francesca Schiavone 6-1, 6-2; Li Na bt Daniela Hantuchova 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-1; Nadia Petrova bt Eleni Daniilidou 6-1, 6-2; Amelie Mauresmo bt Marion Bartoli 6-0, 6-2.

At Las Vegas: Singles: Second round: Ivo Karlovic bt Jonas Bjorkman 3-6, 6-3, 6-4; Lleyton Hewitt bt Jan Hernych 6-3, 6-3; Tommy Robredo bt Mardy Fish 6-4, 6-4.

At Mexico City (ATP & WTA Abierto Mexicano Telcel): Men: First round: Luis Horna bt Juan Antonio Marin 6-3, 7-6(4); Nicolas Almagro bt Jose Acasuso 6-3 (retd); Marcos Daniel bt Nicolas Massu 6-4, 6-4; Gaston Gaudio bt Razvan Sabau 6-3, 3-6, 6-2; Albert Montanes bt Carlos Moya 2-6, 7-6(5), 6-4; Juan Ignacio Chela bt Tomas Behrend 6-1, 2-6, 6-2.

Women: Second round: Laura Pous Tio bt Klara Koukalova 7-5, 6-0; Anna-Lena Groenefeld bt Carla Tiene 6-3, 7-6(3); Flavia Pennetta bt Tathiana Garbin 6-2, 5-7, 6-2; Maret Ani bt Anna Smashnova 1-6, 7-6(6), 2-4 (retd.). — Agencies

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail