Sport - Tennis

Nadal falls to Monfils in Doha

DOHA: Top-ranked Rafael Nadal was eliminated from the Qatar Open on Thursday, losing to Gael Monfils of France 6-4, 6-4 in the quarterfinals.

Nadal, who cruised through his first two matches at the season-opening event in Doha, was broken twice in the first set and once in the second, and finished the match with only 10 winners. Monfils had 35.

“He played better than me. I had my chances but he was serving really well,” said Nadal.

Monfils, a 14th-ranked Frenchman who reached the final here in 2006 but is playing this year as a wild card, had eight aces to none for Nadal.

“I had an almost perfect start to the match and I played well on most points,” Monfils said. “I didn’t allow him to settle down. I think he was a little tired (in the second set). I kept my serve and I am very happy about that.”

Nadal said it simply wasn’t his day. “Monfils served really well,” Nadal said. “If he wants to improve his ranking, he will have to play like he did today. I knew it won’t be easy at the start of the season, but I am happy with my game.”

Monfils reached the French Open semifinals last year — his best-ever showing at a Grand Slam tournament — but lost to Roger Federer. Nadal then beat Federer to win his fourth straight title at Roland Garros, and claimed his first Wimbledon title a few weeks after that.

“When I started my match, I didn’t look at him,” Monfils said. “Rafa is Rafa, he is a tough player so I just played my game. I will take it step by step now.

“I think I can reach the top five, but I will have to keep working hard and playing well like this.”Monfils will next face Andy Roddick in the semifinals. The eighth-ranked American defeated unseeded Victor Hanescu of Romania 6-3, 6-2.

“I feel good right now,” Roddick said. “I am keeping it pretty tight on the court. The drop shots helped a lot. I guess it helps to have those things worked on during the offseason.” Roddick’s serve was also working, and he finished the match with 13 aces.

The second-ranked Roger Federer advanced to the semifinals beating Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany 6-2, 7-6(6).

The Swiss star saved three set points in the tiebreaker after trailing 5-1 and 6-3, eventually reeling off five straight points to win.

The results:

At Doha: Qatar Open: Quarterfinals: Andy Roddick bt Victor Hanescu 6-3, 6-2; Gael Monfils bt Rafael Nadal 6-4, 6-4; Roger Federer bt Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-2, 7-6(6); Andy Murray bt Sergiy Stakhovsky 6-4, 6-2.

At Brisbane (Brisbane International): Quarterfinals: Men: Radek Stepanek bt Robin Soderling 2-6, 6-4, 6-3; Richard Gasquet bt Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 1-6, 6-4, 6-2.

Women: Semifinals: Marion Bartoli bt Amelie Mauresmo 4-0, retd.; Victoria Azarenka bt Sara Errani 6-3, 6-1.

At Auckland: WTA Auckland Classic: Semifinals: Elena Dementieva bt Aravane Rezai 6-2, 6-2; Elena Vesnina bt Anne Keothavong 6-7(3), 6-1, 7-5. — Agencies

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