Rafael Nadal beat a top-five player for the first time in more than a year with a convincing 6-2, 6-1 win over Stan Wawrinka Friday to reach the semifinals of the Shanghai Masters. Top-seeded Novak Djokovic also advanced with his 15th consecutive victory, holding off Australia's Bernard Tomic in a tight first-set tiebreaker before closing it out 7-6 (6), 6-1. Nadal will play Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the semifinals Saturday after the French player topped Kevin Anderson of South Africa 7-6 (6), 5-7, 6-4. Djokovic will play Andy Murray who beat Tomas Berdych 6-1, 6-3. Nadal hadn't won against a top-five player since last year's French Open final when he defeated Djokovic for his 14th Grand Slam title. The eighth-seeded Spanish player looked sharp throughout the match against Wawrinka and his shots had the pace and depth they lacked at times this year. For the second straight match, he also faced only one break point, which he saved. It was Nadal's most lopsided win over Wawrinka in 15 meetings. He spent more time practicing before the match (80 minutes) than he did on Stadium Court (63 minutes). "Obviously, when you play against the best players, you want to play well and be competitive," he said. "I am happy. I am working so hard every day, with the right energy, I believe." The fourth-seeded Wawrinka was clearly not at his best. The French Open champion missed wildly on his groundstrokes, finishing with 34 unforced errors. Djokovic was tested for the first time in his two-week swing through China. Until Friday, he hadn't lost more than five games in any of his five matches last week on his way to the title at the China Open and in his first two matches in Shanghai. Tomic pressed him in the first set, rallying from 2-4 down to force a tiebreaker and then saving two set points before Djokovic finally converted on the third. Venus in semifinals Venus Williams closed in on a spot in the season-ending WTA Finals by beating Alize Cornet 6-1, 6-1 Friday to reach the Hong Kong Open semifinals. The third-seeded American, a seven-time Grand Slam champion, won the Wuhan Open this month. Williams will next meet either Jelena Jankovic or Daria Gavrilova. "I'm not thinking of winning that match only," Williams said. "My goal here is to win the tournament." Angelique Kerber and Samantha Stosur also advanced, and will face each other in the semifinals. Stosur beat Heather Watson 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 while Kerber defeated Caroline Garcia 7-5, 6-3. Radwanska to face Pliskova Agnieszka Radwanska will take on Karolina Pliskova in the semifinals of the Tianjin Open in a match-up between players trying to wrap up spots in the WTA Finals in Singapore. The second-seeded Radwanska rallied from a 5-3 deficit in the opening set against Elizaveta Kulichkova of Russia on Friday to win 7-6 (3), 6-2. The third-seeded Pliskova had 11 aces in a 6-3, 6-2 win over Hungary's Timea Babos. Saturday's other semifinal will pit Bojana Jovanovski of Serbia against Danka Kovinic of Montenegro. — Agencies
