SIMONA THROUGH
Romanian edges closer to top spot, Nadal, Karolina matches postponed
RAFAEL Nadal and Karolina Pliskova, the No 1 seeds at the WTA and ATP Cincinnati Masters, never got a chance to break a sweat before play was halted onThursday at the rain-hit tournament.
Czech defending champion Karolina led Italian qualifier Camila Giorgi 3-0 when play was suspended while former and future World No 1 Nadal and compatriot Albert Ramos-Vinolas never started their third-round match before the final drenching began.
Court conditions more suitable for Olympic swimming star Michael Phelps than tennis stars had US 14th seed John Isner, who beat teen Frances Tiafoe 7-6 (74), 7-5, happy he snuck in a win between storms.
“Very happy to be off the court,” he said. “We could have easily changing, if I didn’t break at 5-all, we could be 2-all in a tiebreaker right now, not finishing. That would suck.”
Second-ranked Simona Halep of Romania charged closer to taking the World No 1 ranking from Karolina by beating Latvian 15th seed Anastasija Sevastova 6-4, 63 to reach the quarter-finals.
“I’m not playing my best tennis at the moment but I’m still winning,” Simona said. “I win against the 15th player in the world playing not like I want and I’m really happy about it.”
But five matches were pushed to today, when double duty could come for Nadal, the 15-time Grand Slam champion assured of returning to World No 1 next week.
Nadal was assured of advancing past injured Andy Murray for the top spot when Roger Federer withdrew from Cincinnati with a back injury.
The 31-year-old Spaniard could meet Australian Nick Kyrgios in today’s quarter-finals. Croatia’s Ivo Karlovic led Kyrgios 4-3 in their halted match.
Nadal will be asked to play at 1 pm and again at 9 pm if he wins, as will the Karlovic-Kyrgios winner.
Eighth-ranked Austrian Dominic Thiem, the only other seed remaining in Nadal’s half of the draw, edged France’s Adrian Mannarino 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-3). He faces Spaniard David Ferrer in the quarter-finals.
Simona, a French Open runnerup for the second time in June, can overtake Karolina by winning the title in the final major tuneup for the US Open.
“To be No 1 in the world I think is a big thing,” Halep said. “If I deserve the place, for sure I will win it.”
Ukraine’s fourth-ranked Elina Svitolina, who won her fifth WTA title of the year last week in Toronto to reach a career-high fourth in the rankings, can also become No 1 on Monday if she wins the title.
But she must face Germany’s Julia Goerges in a postponed match today, then play the winner of another postponed match between American Sloane Stephens and Russian Ekaterina Makarova after a short rest.