Bhupathi-Vizner duo enters semifinals
MONTREAL: World No. 1 Roger Federer and No. 2 Rafael Nadal took a step closer to another title showdown as they reached the semifinals of the Montreal Masters on Friday.
Wimbledon champion Federer continued his seemingly inexorable march through the draw as he swept aside Australian Lleyton Hewitt 6-3, 6-4.
But for the second night in a row, Nadal had to come from behind, beating unseeded Canadian Frank Dancevic 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.
Federer will play Czech Radek Stepanek, who upset fourth seed Nikolay Davydenko 6-4, 7-5, while Nadal will meet third seed Novak Djokovic, who ousted Andy Roddick 7-6 6-4.
The 20-year-old Djokovic claimed the first break of the match in the 11th game of the opener thanks to back-to-back winners.
He then immediately handed Roddick the break-back with a double-fault on break point, however, to allow the first set to reach a tie-break.
But Djokovic, who had won 20 of 24 tie-breaks this season coming into this match, came back from a mini-break down before taking the breaker 7-4 with back-to-back service winners.
Djokovic imposed himself in the second set to win quite comfortably in the end.
In the doubles, Mahesh Bhupathi and his Czech partner Pavel Vizner upstaged fourth seeds Leander Paes and Martin Damm to set up a semifinal clash with top seeds Bob and Mike Bryan.
Bhupathi and Vizner, seeded eighth in the event, beat Paes and Damm 7-6(7), 2-6, 10-8.
Paes and Damm were playing their first match in the hardcourt tournament after getting a bye in the first round and a walkover in the second.
Sania-Bethanie lose
In the doubles, Sania Mirza and her American partner Bethanie Mattek crashed out following a straight set quarterfinal loss to second seeds Rennae Stubbs and Kveta Peschke.
Sania and Mattek went down 6-7(2), 4-6 to the Australian-Czech duo in a match that lasted close to one and a half hours.
Sania and Mattek failed to recover from the setback and wasted five break points in the second set as their opponents wrapped up the match in their favour.
Sharapova in semifinals
Russia’s Maria Sharapova led the top four seeds into the semifinals of the $600,000 WTA hardcourt tournament at Carson, sweeping aside defending champion Elena Dementieva.
Despite some struggles with her serve, the No. 1 seed defeated Dementieva 6-3, 6-4 to set up a clash with another compatriot, fourth-seeded Nadia Petrova, a 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-1 winner over Virginie Razzano of France.
French Open runner-up Ivanovic defeated Russian Maria Kirilenko 6-4, 6-4.
The results:
At Montreal: ATP Rogers Cup: Quarterfinals: Radek Stepanek bt Nikolay Davydenko 6-4, 7-5.
Roger Federer bt Lleyton Hewitt 6-3, 6-4; Novak Djokovic bt Andy Roddick 7-6(4), 6-4; Rafael Nadal bt Frank Dancevic 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.
At Carson: WTA East West Bank Classic: Quarterfinals: Maria Sharapova bt Elena Dementieva 6-3, 6-4; Jelena Jankovic bt Victoria Azarenka 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-2.
Ana Ivanovic bt Maria Kirilenko 6-4, 6-4; Nadia Petrova beat Virginie Razzano 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-1. — Agencies