Nadal’s struggles continue with Barcelona loss ADVERTISING Nadal’s struggles continue with Barcelona loss BARCELONA, Spain — Top-ranked Rafael Nadal’s clay-court struggles worsened Friday as his 41-match winning streak at the Barcelona Open ended with a three-set loss to Nicolas Almagro
Nadal’s struggles continue with Barcelona loss
BARCELONA, Spain — Top-ranked Rafael Nadal’s clay-court struggles worsened Friday as his 41-match winning streak at the Barcelona Open ended with a three-set loss to Nicolas Almagro in the quarterfinals.
Nadal was looking for his ninth title in Barcelona but lost 2-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4, a week after going out in the quarterfinals of the Monte Carlo Masters at the same stage.
Almagro converted his second match point, smashing a forehand down the line for his first career victory over his fellow Spaniard on the 11th try.
Nadal hadn’t lost at the tournament since his debut as a 15-year-old in 2003.
Almagro will play either Philipp Kohlschreiber or Santiago Giraldo in the semifinals.
Sharapova reaches semifinals in Stuttgart
STUTTGART, Germany — Two-time defending champion Maria Sharapova needed eight match points to put away top-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska 6-4, 6-3 for a place in the Porsche Grand Prix semifinals on Friday.
Sharapova has won 11 consecutive matches on Stuttgart’s indoor clay.
Radwanska played her best tennis in the penultimate game, when she fought off six match points and finally broke Sharapova’s serve.
But Radwanska could not keep the momentum and Sharapova’s forehand winner down the line gave her two more match points. Sharapova wasted the first with a wild forehand that was both long and wide, but then nailed a forehand winner to the corner to end the match.
Martin setting record pace at Zurich
AVONDALE, La. — Ben Martin shot a 5-under 67 on Friday to maintain a course-record pace at TPC Louisiana, keeping him atop the leaderboard through two rounds of the Zurich Classic.
After breaking the course record with a 62 on Thursday, Martin opened the second round with two birdies and an eagle on his first four holes. He shook off a bogey and double bogey on successive holes in the middle of the round and birdied four of his last nine to move to 15 under — the best 36-hole total at the course. No one has had a four-round score better than 20 under.
Andrew Svoboda shot a 68 to remain second at 12 under, but closed his round on the par-3 ninth with his first bogey of the tournament.
Robert Streb (66) and Sueng-Yul Noh (68) were 11 under, and two-time heart transplant recipient Erik Compton (68) and Peter Hanson (69) were another stroke back.
Lewis leads at stormy Skirts
DALY CITY, Calif. — Stacy Lewis overcame rain and hail to take the second-round lead in the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic, shooting her second straight 3-under 69 at Lake Merced.
Winless since the Women’s British Open in August, the third-ranked Lewis had a one-stroke lead over 17-year-old playing partner Lydia Ko and first-round leader Karine Icher.
Ko had a 71, and Icher followed her opening 66 with a 73.
Lewis and Ko played alongside Michelle Wie, dealing with heavy rain and hail that suspended play for just over an hour. Play resumed in steady drizzle that gave way to sunny afternoon conditions.
Wie, the winner last week in Hawaii, was even par after her second 72.
By wire sources
