Madrid : Rafael Nadal cruised into the Madrid Open quarterfinals with a 6-2, 6-3 victory Thursday over Mikhail Youzhny that featured an array of creative shots. Top-ranked Serena Williams and No. 2 Maria Sharapova also reached the quarterfinals in straight sets.
Having already established control by winning Youzhny's second service game, Nadal kept a point going with a deft no-look backhand flick before nailing a winner down the line to hold his serve and delight his fans at the Caja Magica.
The fifth-ranked Spaniard broke Youzhny again by dinking the ball over the net while on the run, giving it so much backspin it twisted away from the Russian. Fittingly, Nadal polished off the third-round match by chasing down a ball and returning it cross-court. Nadal, who is aiming for his seventh straight final since returning from injury, improved to 28-2 this year.
He will play either David Ferrer or Tommy Haas in the quarterfinal. Also, Tomas Berdych defeated Kevin Anderson of South Africa 7-6 (5), 7-5, to make the final eight, while Pablo Andujar also advanced after fellow Spaniard Daniel Gimeno-Traver retired. Second-seeded Roger Federer and third-seeded Andy Murray also have third-round matches later Thursday....
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07:01 PM, May 09, 2013
Stuttgart: Sania Mirza and Bethanie Mattek-Sands will have to wait for their third title of the season as they ended runners-up at the WTA Porsche Tennis Grand Prix after losing the summit clash to Sabine Lisicki and Mona Barthel, on Sunday. Playing their third final of the season, the unseeded Indo-American pair lost 4-6 5-7 in one hour and 33 minutes to the local favourites, who were unseeded wild card...
10:15 PM, Apr 28, 2013
Stuttgart: Germany came from behind to beat Serbia 3-2 in their Fed Cup playoff Sunday and qualify for next season's top-tier World group competition. Sabine Lisicki and Anna-Lena Groenefeld clinched the best-of-five series by winning the decisive doubles 6-2, 6-4 against Vesna Dolonc and Aleksandra Krunic. Mona Barthel began the comeback by defeating Bojana Jovanovski to pull Germany level at 2-2. Barthel had to win to keep Germany in the...
12:54 AM, Apr 22, 2013
Former No. 1 Wozniacki has rallied from a set to win her first-round match 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 to Sabine Lisicki of Germany. ...
09:30 AM, Jan 15, 2013
Top-ranked Victoria Azarenka opened her 2013 season with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Germany's Sabine Lisicki. ...
05:52 PM, Jan 02, 2013
London: Maria Sharapova's hopes of winning a second Wimbledon title were shattered on Monday as the world number one was comprehensively beaten 6-4, 6-3 by Germany's Sabine Lisicki in the fourth round. The world number 15 had top seed Sharapova on the back foot early in the first set, forcing her into a string of uncharacteristic errors, and did not let up until she had gained revenge for her semi-final...
08:21 PM, Jul 02, 2012
Wimbledon: Novak Djokovic is tough to beat at Wimbledon, indoors or out. Playing the day's first Centre Court match on Friday under the retractable roof, defending champion Djokovic rallied past Radek Stepanek 4-6, 6-2, 6-2, 6-2. When a drizzle delayed the start of the third round, tournament officials decided Djokovic's match should be played inside. An odd spectacle ensued: The roof closed as the sun came out and outside court...
09:10 PM, Jun 29, 2012
