Nadal Advances to Sony Open Men’s Final with Walkover

Rafael Nadal has advanced to the men’s final at the Sony Open… without breaking a sweat.

The 27-year-old Spanish tennis star, the tournament’s No. 1 seed, will meet Novak Djokovic in Sunday’s final after both their opponents pulled out of the semifinals in Miami.

Rafael Nadal

Nadal advanced without hitting a single ball after Tomas Berdych was laid low by gastroenteritis.

“I woke up at 7.30am with pain in my stomach,” said the Czech seventh seed.

Djokovic, the second seed, progressed when Japan’s Kei Nishikori withdrew from their match with a groin injury.

“I couldn’t move from side to side,” said the 20th seed. “I am disappointed about not getting a chance to play.”

Nadal and Djokovic will meet for the 40th time on Sunday, with the Spaniard 22-17 ahead in their personal battle but having lost the last two encounters.

Nadal Survives Milos Raonic to Reach the Sony Open Semifinals

Despite a disappointing first set, Rafael Nadal is still in the running at the Sony Open in Miami.

The 27-year-old Spanish tennis star advanced to the semifinals on Thursday by hitting a flurry of forehand winners in the late stretch to beat Canada’s Milos Raonic 4-6, 6-2, 6-4.

Rafael Nadal

The No. 1-ranked player in the world, who is 0-3 in the Key Biscayne tournament finals, needs one more win to get there again.

His opponent Friday night will be No. 7-seeded Tomas Berdych, who advanced by beating No. 22 Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-4, 7-6 (3).

Nadal has beaten Berdych 16 times in a row over the past seven years.

“This tournament is a tournament where I really feel the love of the people so much,” Nadal said, “so I’m going to try my best to keep playing well.”

Three-time champion Novak Djokovic will play in the other semifinal Friday against No. 20-seeded Kei Nishikori, who eliminated Roger Federer on Wednesday.

Ferrer Earns His Place in the Sony Open Men’s Final

David Ferrer has earned his ticket to the Sony Open men’s final after a come-from-behind victory…

The 30-year-old Spanish tenista rallied from a set down to beat Tommy Haas 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 on Friday afternoon and book his spot in the final of the Miami tournament.

David Ferrer

Ferrer wasn’t at his highest level throughout the semifinal contest, but he did manage to take advantage of the German’s inconsistency to claim victory in just over two hours, earning his first-ever berth in the championship match of the elite hard-court event.

In the first set, Haas showed the form that propelled him to a stunning upset of world No. 1 Novak Djokovic earlier in the week, breaking Ferrer’s serve in the fifth game and again in the seventh.

Ferrer improved in the second set, however, and also benefited from a lack of patience on the part of his 34-year-old opponent, whose error count rose quickly.

The final set began with three consecutive service breaks before Haas finally held for a 3-1 lead.

The German would not win another game, however, as Ferrer, the No. 5 player in the world proved more solid in the players’ punishing baseline rallies.

Next up for Ferrer in Sunday’s final will be the winner of Friday’s night match between France’s Richard Gasquet and Britain’s Andy Murray.

 

Ferrer holds an 8-1 career head-to-head advantage over the Frenchman but has not fared as well against Murray, losing six of their 11 encounters and five of six on hard courts.

Almagro Defeats Roddick at Miami Tennis Cup Event

Nicolás Almagro is the exhibition king…

The 27-year-old Spanish tennis star beat Andy Roddick 6-4, 7-5 in the Miami Tennis Cup exhibition final on Sunday.

Nicolas Almagro & Andy Roddick

Roddick, who retired from professional tennis at the U.S. Open, was broken once in each set. He dropped the ninth game of the first set at 30-40 on a netted backhand. Roddick saved a break point in the ninth game of the second set but had no answer for an Almagro forehand crosscourt passing shot at 30-40 in the 11th game.

Almagro, who currently ranks No. 11 in the world, lost both times he played Roddick in tour matches. One of those losses came in Key Biscayne in the 2010 Sony Open quarterfinals.

Earlier this year Almagro defended his title in Nice, France for his 12th career title, beating another American, Brian Baker, in the final.