BARCELONA — Rafa Nadal moved closer to an eighth Barcelona Open title in nine years Friday when he breezed through two matches to set up a semifinal against Canadian fifth seed Milos Raonic. Chasing a fourth title of the year after returning from a seven-month injury layoff in February, Nadal recovered from a slow start on the clay at the Real Club de Tenis to beat Benoit Paire 7-6, 6-2 in their delayed third-round match. The world No. 5 had been set to meet the 13th-seeded Frenchman Thursday before rain washed out the day's play. After a few hours' rest, Nadal returned to center court to dispatch fellow Spaniard Albert Ramos 6-3, 6-0 for his 37th consecutive Barcelona Open win. It was the first time he had played two matches in one day since the Monte Carlo Masters in 2009. “I played much better than this morning,” Nadal said in an interview with Spanish television broadcaster TVE. “Making the semifinals is great news and I am pleased to get through a difficult day like today,” he added. To the relief of organizers, the rain forecast for the Catalan capital held off, allowing Thursday's postponed matches to be completed before the quarterfinals were played. Ramos, the world No. 64, surprised Japanese sixth seed Kei Nishikori 6-4, 7-6 in their delayed third-round match before 2004 champion Robredo came back from a set down to upset third-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych 3-6, 7-6, 6-3. Raonic, the world No. 13, beat Latvian qualifier Ernests Gulbis 6-2, 7-6 before battling back from a set down against Robredo to win 6-7, 6-3, 7-6. Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber became the first player to reach the last four when his quarterfinal opponent, Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil, pulled out of the tournament with an abdominal injury. Kohlschreiber will play Nicolas Almagro for a place in Sunday's final after the Spanish fourth seed beat Argentine Juan Monaco, the seventh seed, 6-3 7-5. Sharapova edges Ivanovic In Stuttgart, top-seeded Maria Sharapova got through another tough test in outlasting Ana Ivanovic 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 Friday to advance to the semifinals of the Porsche Grand Prix. Sharapova, the defending champion, needed more than three hours to overcome Lucie Safarova 6-4, 6-7 (3-7), 6-3 a day earlier. This one was an hour shorter but perhaps just as intense. Against Ivanovic, another former No. 1 and the 2008 French Open champion, Sharapova squandered a 4-1 lead in the third set before breaking serve again and serving out the match on her second match point. Bethanie Mattek-Sands, an American qualifier, beat Sabine Lisicki of Germany 6-4, 6-2, a day after upsetting Sara Errani in a match that lasted past 1:30 a.m. Sharapova will next play third-seeded Angelique Kerber, who defeated Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan 6-3, 7-6 (2) to reach her third semifinal of the season. Dominguez Lino advances In Morocco, Lourdes Dominguez Lino of Spain advanced to the semifinals of the Grand Prix SAR by beating defending champion Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 Friday. The unseeded Spaniard will next face Mandy Minella of Luxembourg, who defeated Silvia Soler-Espinosa of Spain 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. Chanelle Scheepers of South Africa also advanced, beating Kristina Mladenovic of France 6-1, 6-2. Del Potro out In Lisbon, top seed Juan Martin del Potro has withdrawn from next week's Lisbon Open, organizers confirmed Friday. Officials said they received word from the player's agent that he was ill with a stomach virus and would not make the trip to Europe. The world number seven's absence from the 250 series tournament leaves Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka as the main draw card at the re-branded clay event. The concurrent WTA field in Lisbon is headed by Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli and Dominika Cibulkova with three-time Grand Slam winner Svetlana Kuznetsova earning a wildcard. — Agencies
