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Nishikori downs Nadal in Montreal quarters
Kei Nishikori swept aside Rafael Nadal in the quarter-finals of the Rogers Cup in Montreal on Friday with a swift 6-2, 6-4 victory, while world number one Novak Djokovic saved two match points before beating Latvian Ernests Gulbis.
Japan's Nishikori, seeded fourth, took just 82 minutes to beat the Spaniard, a 14-time grand slam champion and a winner three times at the Rogers Cup.
“I was close in Madrid, but today I was dominating everything,” said Nishikori after getting his first win over Nadal in eight attempts. “I definitely needed to change some of my tactics when playing against Rafa. I had to play 100 percent to beat him.”
Nishikori will next meet Andy Murray in the semi-finals after the Briton defeated defending champ Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France 6-4, 6-4.
Nishikori won his third title of the season in Washington last week and is hitting his stride ahead of the US Open. The 25-year-old reached the final at Flushing Meadows last year only to lose in straight sets to Marin Cilic.
"(Nadal) wasn’t making many first serves tonight, so I knew I had to be more aggressive on the second serve,” Nishikori said. “Everything was working well, so I am very happy to win today.”
Djokovic almost joined Nadal on the way out but rallied from a set down to beat Gulbis 5-7, 7-6(7), 6-1, setting up a semi-final with Jeremy Chardy of France.
The Serb, who is looking for a fourth Canadian crown, said he would have had no complaints had Gulbis beat him.
“You have to give credit to (Gulbis) for playing an excellent match,” Djokovic said. “He was always making me play an extra shot, and putting a lot of pressure on my second serve.
"I had a lot of chances and closed it out in the end, but he had a couple of match points and it would’ve been deserved if he had won this match tonight.”
The win extended Djokovic’s Master Series streak to 29 victories. He has not lost since Roger Federer beat him in Shanghai last year.
A victory in Montreal would be his record-tying fifth Masters Series title of the year, equaling his own mark in 2011 and Nadal's from 2013.
Unseeded Chardy also clawed his way back from the brink, saving seven match points to beat American John Isner 6-7(9), 7-6(13), 7-6(4) and reach his first Masters Series semi-final.
"It was a crazy match," Chardy said. "We both served really well and we both had our chances, so I am happy that I won it in the end.
"On those match points, I was only thinking about where I wanted to hit my serve or how to play the point. Under pressure it's easy to get nervous and miss if you start thinking about the match point or the break point."
Williams to face Swiss teen Bencic in Rogers semis
World number one Serena Williams rolled into the semi-finals of the Rogers Cup on Friday with a clinical 6-4, 6-3 win over Italy's Roberta Vinci, setting up an intriguing showdown with Swiss teenager Belinda Bencic.
Williams, a three-time champion on the Canadian hardcourts, stretched her winning streak in Toronto to 14 matches but on a humid evening she was made to sweat for her spot in the last four by her 53rd ranked opponent.
Playing her first event since winning Wimbledon, Williams will next meet 18-year-old Bencic, who took apart fifth seed Anna Ivanovic 6-4, 6-2.
"I don't feel like I'm at my best or anywhere near it," said Williams, who will go for the Grand Slam at the US Open. "But I feel like I'm going in the right direction and I want to keep that up.
"I definitely feel more positive today. I don't want to peak too soon."
An animated Williams struggled to get control of the first set but capitalised on her fourth break point with the Italian serving at 4-5 to claim it. In the second she got the decisive break to go up 5-3 before serving out the match.
"I think she just served really well, some big serves," said Williams, who also blasted 12 aces past the Italian. "She was number one in doubles for a really long time so she obviously has a great game."
Standing in the way of Williams' return to the final is Bencic, who has eliminated two former-world number ones, Caroline Wozniacki and former Rogers Cup champion Ivanovic.
The Serb beat the Swiss teenager's mentor, Martina Hingis, in the 2006 final.
"She (Hingis) knows her (Williams) well, I think tomorrow I can go onto the court with a plan and just keep playing as I did today," said Bencic.
In other quarter-final action, second seeded Romanian Simona Halep sleepwalked through the first set before producing a remarkable comeback to record a 0-6 6-3 6-1 win over defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska.
After dropping the first seven games to Radwanska, Halep started to find her rhythm and at 3-3 in the second set shifted into high gear.
Looking like a completely different player she stormed through the next eight games to level the match and pulled ahead 5-0 in the third before Radwanska could stop the slide, if only for one game, before the sixth seed was sent packing.
"At the beginning I could not move my legs. I felt very tired," said Halep. "I just kept focused on what I had to do and just tried to keep the ball in the court to make some longer rallies."
Halep, a winner at Indian Wells earlier this season, will take on Italy's Sara Errani for a place in the final after the 15th seed advanced with a 6-4 6-4 win over Ukrainian qualifier Lesia Tsurenko.