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Nadal, Agassi, Ferrer move to Rome Masters semis
Rafael Nadal, Spanish compatriot David Ferrer and American Andre Agassi moved into the last four of the latest Masters Series event in Rome on Friday.
- Indo-Asian News Service
- Updated: February 25, 2007 09:51 AM IST
Read Time:2 min
Rome:
Rafael Nadal, Spanish compatriot David Ferrer and American former world number one Andre Agassi moved into the last four of the latest Masters Series event in Rome on Friday. Nadal, the number five seed and the form player on clay this season, had to come back from a set down to beat his Czech opponent Radek Stepanek, seeded fifteen, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1. However, Ferrer had an even tougher time, saving three match points before finally overcoming fellow countryman Alberto Martin, 6-2, 3-6, 7-5 in two hours and twenty minutes. Agassi meanwhile, took just 77 minutes to dispose of Slovakia's Dominik Hrbaty 6-3, 6-3 and has yet to drop a set in the Euros 2.1-million ($ 2.7-million) tournament. The former world number one broke serve in the fifth game of the opening set before taking it 6-3, and despite the second containing five breaks of serve Agassi, seized control in the eighth game as Hrbaty's game fell apart in difficult windy conditions. The American sixth seed has not dropped a set in the tournament so far and remains on course to reclaim the title he won in 2002. Agassi next faces either ninth seed Guillermo Coria or Fernando Verdasco of Spain for a place in the final. Matter of form Fifth seed Rafael Nadal, the class act on clay this year, struggled to find his form in the early stages of his match against Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic. Serving for the opener in the tenth game, Nadal was broken back and went down 7-5, but quickly put that behind him to race through the next fourteen games, dropping just two of them on his way to a 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 win in a little over two hours. After four titles already this year, Nadal might fancy his chances against Ferrer in the semis, a player he beat in straight sets at the Miami Masters in March, but Ferrer won their last encounter on clay in Stuttgart last year. At least the tie means that one representative from Spain will take part in the final. (AP)Topics mentioned in this article
Tennis Rafael Nadal
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