SAO PAULO -- Rafael Nadal overcame a poor start and a difficult third set to advance to the Brazil Open semifinals, beating Carlos Berlocq of Argentina 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 on Friday night.
Nadal jumped and thrust both arms into the air after he closed the match against the 78th-ranked Berlocq in 2 hours, 24 minutes, staying on track to win his first tournament after a long layoff to recover from a left knee injury.
With the crowd behind him, Nadal broke Berlocq's service in the final game of the match to secure the victory and a spot in the semifinals.
Berlocq had broken Nadal's service early in the third set to go up 3-1, but the Spaniard recovered and took advantage of a couple of double faults by Berlocq to start the final game.
"I knew there was a chance I was going to lose it, but luckily I was able to recover in the end," Nadal said. "I'm very happy because it was a very difficult match against a great opponent. I'm happy to reach the semifinals and now we'll see how it goes."
Nadal will face 111th-ranked Martin Alund, who beat 88th-ranked Filippo Volandri of Italy 7-5, 7-6 (5). The 27-year-old Argentine never had won a match at the top tour level until he came to Sao Paulo. He beat 25th-ranked and fourth-seeded Jeremy Chardy of France in the second round.
"I know very little about him but he has been having a spectacular tournament," Nadal said. "He has been playing very well and is coming into the match with a lot of confidence."
Nadal was broken twice in a row in the first set and had to save a break point early in the second. He squandered three straight chances to break Berlocq's service a few games later before finally coming through at 4-5 to clinch the set and stay alive.
Despite the victory, Nadal didn't appear in his best shape and had a slight limp at times toward the end of the match.
There was a tense moment in the seventh game of the first set after Nadal sprinted to try to reach a drop ball near the net. He nearly fell and immediately started limping, apparently favoring his injured left knee, but replays eventually showed that he only slightly twisted his ankle and he seemed fine the rest of the match.
The match was stopped for a few minutes after the play as organizers had to work to fix a damaged spot on the court. Many players, including Nadal, had criticized the temporary clay court at the Ibirapuera arena, saying it was too slippery and unsafe at times. Nadal also attacked the ATP and complained of the bad quality of the ball provided in Sao Paulo.
Nadal was out of action for nearly seven months because of his knee injury. He returned to action last week at the VTR Open in Vina del Mar in Chile, losing the final in both singles and doubles.
The 26-year-old Spaniard has been saying there is still pain in his knee but it is improving considerably. The 11-time Grand Slam champion will also play in Acapulco, Mexico, this month.
The 30-year-old Berlocq was trying to win his first ATP title. He reached the semifinals in Chile last week, losing to eventual tournament winner Horacio Zeballos, the Argentine who beat Nadal in the final.
Source: http://espn.go.com/tennis/story/_/id/8951637/rafael-nadal-defeats-carlos-berlocq-reach-brazil-open-semifinals
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