TOKYO (AP) Rafael Nadal overwhelmed Russia's Dmitry Tursunov 6-4, 6-1 on Friday to advance to the semifinals at the Japan Open.
Tursunov reached his first quarterfinal since he returned to the ATP tour in May following two ankle surgeries, but was no match for the top-ranked Spaniard.
Nadal said he was hoping to finish up early so he could have a quiet dinner and then watch a soccer exhibition between Japan and Argentina.
But he said he has yet to think about winning his first title in Japan.
It was a very nice atmosphere,'' he said.But I still have hard matches ahead.''
Viktor Troicki of Serbia spared Nadal from meeting Guillermo Garcia-Lopez - who beat Nadal en route to the Bangkok title last week - by defeating the Spaniard 6-2, 3-6, 6-4. Troicki, who served 14 aces, has yet to beat Nadal.
Gael Monfils of France outlasted American Andy Roddick 7-6 (5), 4-6, 7-6 (6) in a nearly three-hour match that was won on big serves and well-placed returns.
Roddick converted the only break of the match to win the second set. Monfils missed all 10 of his break chances, and the 10th-ranked Roddick converted one out of his three.
Monfils, ranked 15th and seeded 5th, said he tried to play aggressively and push the power-serving Roddick by going to the net and concentrating on placing his return shots.
He has a good first serve, so I focused on my returns,'' Monfils said.I came to the net more often than usual. I knew I could beat him.''
Monfils improved to 5-3 against Roddick, though the American is 3-2 against the Frenchman on hard courts.
``I like the court, but it is not my favorite surface because it is very fast,'' Monfils said.
Roddick said he was satisfied with his first tournament since being eliminated in the second round of the U.S. Open last month.
I thought it was one of the best matches I played since spring,'' Roddick said.I hit the ball really well but he played some of his best tennis to win.''
Monfils' semifinal opponent will be Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic, who advanced when Jarkko Nieminen of Finland withdrew because of a fever.