NADAL SE ENFRENTA CON TSONGA MONTE CARLO

MONACO (AP) -- Rafael Nadal edged Grigor Dimitrov 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 Friday to win his 45th straight match

at the Monte Carlo Masters and reach the semifinals.
Top-ranked Novak Djokovic had less trouble with Jarkko Nieminen, beating the Finnish veteran 6-4, 6-3. Djokovic won despite a balky right ankle, which the Serb twisted two weeks ago a during Davis Cup match against the United States.
''I didn't feel the ankle was bothering me today,'' Djokovic said. ''We played a lot of long rallies. I'm really glad things are going in the right direction.''
In the semifinal, he'll face unseeded Fabio Fognini, who defeated Richard Gasquet 7-6 (0), 6-2.
Nadal will meet Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who beat Stanislas Wawrinka 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.
The Spaniard dropped only his third set in his last five tournaments here, the previous times against Andy Murray in the 2011 semifinals and Djokovic in the 2009 final. He was under pressure at 30-30 in the eighth game of the final set before hitting a crucial serve.

The Spaniard dropped only his third set in his last five tournaments here, the previous times against Andy Murray in the 2011 semifinals and Djokovic in the 2009 final. He was under pressure at 30-30 in the eighth game of the final set before hitting a crucial serve.
''I know that when you have these tough matches, is decisive to keep fighting,'' Nadal said. ''If you keep fighting, you will lose some, but you will have a chance to win a lot of ones.''
The eight-time defending champion sealed victory on his second match point with an ace, after Dimitrov saved the first one with a forehand winner of astonishing power from the back of the court. It was even more impressive because he was struggling with a leg cramp.
''First of all, it's a tough loss. I think I gave everything I had today,'' Dimitrov said. ''I must say, all credit to him. He's an extraordinary player, extraordinary fighter.''
As age17, Dimitrov took a set off Nadal at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam, Netherlands. On Friday, he thrilled the center-court crowd with a superb display of attacking tennis punctuated by exquisite drop shots and high-speed winners off both the backhand and forehand.
By regularly taking the ball early, Dimitrov unsettled Nadal's rhythm and the seven-time French Open champion was unable to dictate play.

'conclusion clic aqui

cortesia bleaherreport.com