Federer, Nadal reach semifinals at Qatar Open
Published:Friday | January 8, 2010 | 9:23 AM
Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal look set to renew their rivalry in the ATP\'s season-opening tournament after reaching the Qatar Open semifinals yesterday.
The world\'s top two players haven\'t met since May in the Madrid Open final, but from the beginning of the Doha tournament they have looked headed to a showdown in the final.
The pair is preparing for the Australian Open, where they met in the final last year and Nadal prevailed.
Federer was pushed to three sets for the first time in overcoming Ernests Gulbis of Latvia 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 yesterday, while Nadal passed the Doha quarterfinals for the first time in three attempts when Belgian qualifier Steve Darcis retired with a back problem while trailing 6-1, 2-0.
In the semis, Federer will play third-seeded Nikolay Davydenko, who outlasted seventh-seeded Ivo Karlovic 7-6, 7-6. Nadal will face fifth-seeded Viktor Troicki of Serbia, who beat Lukasz Kubot of Poland 4-6, 6-4, 7-6.