Djoker ticks on as Tomic bombs
Shanghai, October 16
Novak Djokovic eased into the Shanghai Masters semi-finals on Friday after a brilliant start by Bernard Tomic fizzled into one of the Australian's trademark damp squibs.
Top-ranked Djokovic was pushed all the way in a thrilling opener but after he edged the tiebreak 8/6, it was plain sailing as Tomic capitulated 7-6 (8/6), 6-1.
The two swapped breaks early in the first set and with 20th-ranked Tomic standing up to Djokovic in the rallies, they were inseparable heading into the tiebreak. But Tomic's head dropped after he limply netted on his opponent's third set point and he was broken three times in a car-crash of a second set before double-faulting on match point.
The 23-year-old has a reputation for quick losses which once saw him dubbed "Tomic the tank engine". Last year he set an unwanted record for the fastest recorded defeat in men's tennis, losing 6-0, 6-1 to Jarkko Nieminen in 28 minutes 20 seconds in Miami. Earlier, Rafael Nadal's renaissance took a big step forward as he whipped a flagging Stan Wawrinka for the loss of just three games to reach the semifinals.
Nadal beat the world No. 4 6-2, 6-1 to bring up his first win over a top-five player in more than a year and extend a hot streak after he also reached last week's China Open final.
'Not 100 percent'
Spain's Nadal was on court for just 64 minutes against Wawrinka, who said he was feeling the effects of his marathon three-setter against Marin Cilic late the previous night.
The French Open champion from Switzerland, who won last week in Tokyo, made 34 unforced errors and was on target with just 45 percent of his first serves as he folded meekly. Nadal will play Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the last-four as he bids to keep up his record of winning atleast one Masters title every season since 2005.
Bopanna, Kubot in semis of Shanghai Masters
Rohan Bopanna reached the semifinals of an ATP Masters for the second time this season when he and Lukasz Kubot downed Max Mirnyi and Feliciano Lopez in straight sets. The eighth seeded Indo-Polish pair overcame the Belarus-Spanish combine 6-4 7-5 in the quarterfinals of the $7,021,335 hardcourt tournament. — AFP
