Australia’s Nick Kyrgios humbled new World No. 1 Rafael Nadal 6-2, 7-5, winning twice in a day to reach the semifinals of the Western & Southern Open on Friday.
On a day when defending champion Karolina Pliskova won twice in one day for the third time this season to tighten her grip on the World No. 1 ranking, Kyrgios stole the show by overpowering the 15-time Grand Slam champion after each had won earlier.
Pliskova, fighting to hold off Romania’s Simona Halep atop the rankings, first ousted Italian qualifier Camila Giorgi 6-3, 4-6, 6-0 in one of five matches postponed from Thursday due to rain.
With only two hours between matches, the 25-year-old Czech defeated Denmark’s fifth-ranked Caroline Wozniacki 6-2, 6-4 to book a Saturday semifinal against Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza.
Rohan Bopanna and Sania Mirza bowed out of the Cincinnati Masters after losing their quarterfinal and semifinal with respective partners in the men’s and women’s doubles.
Bopanna and his Croatian partner Ivan Dodig lost 6-1, 5-7, [10-7] to second seeds Lukasz Kubot of Poland and Marcelo Melo. In the WTA event, Sania Mirza and Shuai Peng lost to Hsie Su-Wei of Taiwan and Moncia Niculescu of Romania 4-6, 6-7(8).
The results: Men: Quarterfinals: Grigor Dimitrov bt Yuichi Sugita 6-2, 6-1; John Isner bt Jared Donaldson 7-6(4), 7-5; David Ferrer bt Dominic Thiem 6-3, 6-3; Nick Kyrgios bt Rafael Nadal 6-2, 7-5; Third round: Kyrgios bt Ivo Karlovic 4-6, 7-6(6), 6-3; Nadal bt Albert Ramos-Vinolas 7-6(1), 6-2.
Doubles: Quarterfinals: Lukasz Kubot & Marcelo Melo bt Rohan Bopanna & Ivan Dodig 6-1, 5-7, [10-7].
Women: Quarterfinals: Garbine Muguruza bt Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-2, 5-7, 7-5; Karolina Pliskova bt Caroline Wozniacki 6-2, 6-4; Sloane Stephens bt Julia Goerges 6-1, 7-6(3); Simona Halep bt Johanna Konta 6-4, 7-6(1); Third round: Pliskova bt Giorgi 6-3, 4-6, 6-0; Goerges bt Svitolina 7-5, 6-4; Stephens bt Makarova 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Doubles: Semifinals: Hsie Su-Wei & Moncia Niculescu bt Sania Mirza & Shuai Peng 6-4, 7-6(8).
