Spain ́s Rafael Nadal celebrates after winning over Argentina ́s Leonardo Mayer at the Mexican Open Tennis Championship in Acapulco, Mexico, Thursday. — AP ACAPULCO, Mexico — Rafael Nadal beat Leonardo Mayer in straight sets on Thursday to progress to the semifinals of the Mexican Open, setting up a meeting with Spanish compatriot Nicolas Almagro. The second-seeded Nadal won 6-1, 7-5 in an hour and 41 minutes as the former top-ranked player continues his comeback from a long-term knee injury and builds towards the French Open. Third-seeded Almagro also had a straight-sets win, defeating Horacio Zeballos 6-3, 6-4. Top seed David Ferrer remained on track for a fourth-straight Mexican Open title by breezing past Paolo Lorenzi 6-3, 6-1, notching his 18th consecutive win in this tournament. Ferrer's semifinal opponent will be Italy's Fabio Fognini, who beat Santiago Giraldo 7-5, 6-4. Haas advances, Querrey falls Top seed John Isner fired 15 aces in a 7-6 (7/2), 6-2 victory over Japan's Go Soeda Thursday to reach the quarter-finals of the ATP Delray Beach International Championships. The American player broke Soeda twice in the 75-minute match to book a meeting with defending champion Kevin Anderson of South Africa. Anderson, seeded sixth, continued his comeback from elbow surgery with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 victory over Taiwan's Lu Yen-Hsun. German second seed Tommy Haas also advanced to the quarters of the $455,775 tournament, but US third seed Sam Querrey was eliminated. Haas ousted Uzbek Denis Istomin 6-4, 6-1, moving on in 67 minutes without facing a break point, while Latvian qualifier Ernests Gulbis outlasted Querrey 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (7/4). Next for Haas will be a Friday quarter-final against Croatian Ivan Dodig, who downed Russia's Evgeny Donskoy 6-3, 7-5. Gulbis will face fellow qualifier Daniel Munoz, a Spaniard who outlasted Belgium's Xavier Malisse 7-6 (7/3), 3-6, 6-3 to reach the last eight in a match that was halted Wednesday in the first set by rain. Lithuanian lucky loser Ricardas Berankis advanced, rallying to defeat American Jack Sock 3-6, 6-4, 6-1. His next foe is France's Edouard Roger-Vasselin, who beat Croatian Ivo Karlovic 6-4, 7-5. Venus in last four Venus Williams defeated fifth-seeded Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia 6-4, 6-0 on Thursday to reach the semifinals of the Brazil Tennis Cup. Williams will next face Olga Puchkova of Russia, who cruised past Jana Cepelova of Slovakia 6-1, 6-1 despite eight double faults. The 109th-ranked Puchkova, who upset third-seeded Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium in the first round, will be trying to reach her first final since 2006. Earlier, seventh-seeded Kristina Mladenovic of France got past Melinda Czink of Hungary 6-4, 6-3 to set up the other semifinal against Monica Niculescu of Romania. The 58th-ranked Mladenovic, yet to lose a set, broke Czink's serve four times and saved eight break points to win the match. Niculescu reached the semis by beating Timea Babos of Hungary 6-3, 6-2. — Agencies
