Rio Open 2016: Saturday Tennis Scores, Results, Updated Schedule
Day 8 at the 2016 Rio Open in Brazil featured semifinal singles clashes in both the men's and women's draws as clay-court preparation for May's French Open continued.
On the men's side, top-seeded Rafael Nadal was defeated by Pablo Cuevas in three sets, while No. 5 Dominic Thiem was beaten easily by Guido Pella in hopes of continuing his positive momentum after winning last week's Argentina Open.
In the women's draw, former French Open champion Francesca Schiavone took down Petra Martic, while rising American star Shelby Rogers defeated Sorana Cirstea to punch her ticket to the final.
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Here is a full rundown of how all the singles action in Rio de Janeiro has played out thus far Saturday.
Men's Day 8 Results
| Semifinal | (5) Dominic Thiem | Guido Pella | Pella (6-1, 6-4) |
| Semifinal | (1) Rafael Nadal | Pablo Cuevas | Cuevas (7-6 (6), (3) 6-7, 6-4) |
The men's semifinal action began with Pella defeating Thiem (6-1, 6-4) in straight sets, advancing to his first ATP final of his career, per Miguel Cicenia of Sports Gazette:
Pella dictated the pace of the match by holding a commanding advantage in first-serve points, winning 25 of 31 points. Thiem, fresh off winning the Argentina Open, failed to capitalize on his serves, committing three double-faults despite recording three aces.
"Today, he was just the better player on the court," said Thiem, per ATPWorldTour.com. "He had the same conditions, but he just handled them better than me. Everything was at a couple per cent less than the last matches."
The final double-fault ended the match, via Tennis TV:
The 25-year-old Pella, ranked 45th in the world, breezed through the first set before rain began coming down early in the second set. Thiem came in winning eight matches in a row, but Pella made quick work of the 22-year-old.
In the second semifinal, despite losing the first set in a tiebreaker, Cuevas came back to win a thrilling match against Nadal in three sets, 7-6(6), (3)6-7, 6-4
Nadal and the native from Uruguay battled point-for-point, but Nadal was the one who edged out a tiebreaker win over Cuevas. After trailing the second set 5-2, Nadal stormed back to tie it at five-all and eventually force another tiebreaker.
However, it would be Cuevas winning this tiebreaker and sending the match to a third and final set. By this point, it had already become a marathon on the clay court for Nadal, per Nick Nemeroff of The Tennis Island:
Not being able to put an opponent away continues to be a struggle for Nadal since his first-round exit at the Australian Open. Howard Bryant of ESPN thinks we've finally seen the last of a dominant Nadal in the tennis world:
In the end, Nadal appeared to be too fatigued after two tiebreakers. Playing in a humid environment, with rain coming down later in the day, that could be one cause. But it'll be Cuevas and Pella meeting in the final.
Women's Day 8 Results
| Semifinal | Francesca Schiavone | Petra Martic | 6-3, 6-3 |
| Semifinal | Shelby Rogers | Sorana Cirstea | 6-4, 6-4 |
Saturday's women's action started with a clash between Schiavone and Martic, both of whom made somewhat surprising runs to the semis.
It was Schiavone who kept her title hopes alive, though, by virtue of a 6-3, 6-3 triumph over her Croatian opponent.
The 35-year-old Italian was once ranked as high as No. 4 in the world, but she is currently outside the top 100 and hadn't reached a WTA final in three years before Saturday's win, according to WTA Insider:
The two-time French Open finalist excelled on serve in particular by winning an impressive 84 percent of her first-serve points, per Tennis TV:
While there is no question that Schiavone has struggled in recent years, she always seems to play her best on the red stuff.
She has reached at least the third round in three of the past four years at Roland Garros, and she is starting to build some momentum toward a potential deep run in 2016.
Winning the Rio Open would undoubtedly provide a huge confidence boost, but in order to do so, she must get past Rogers on Sunday.
The 131st-ranked player in the world took care of Cirstea 6-4, 6-4 in straight sets to reach just the second WTA singles final of her career.
Although Cirstea was a wild-card addition to the tournament, the win was a big one for Rogers since her Romanian opponent was on the fringes of the top 20 just a few years ago.
Injuries have hurt Cirstea's ranking significantly over the past couple of years, but as she revealed following her quarterfinal win, she is happy to be healthy and playing on a consistent basis again, according to WTATennis.com.
"I've been injured for one year and a half, so to come back and play three matches and be fit and healthy is the most important for me," she said. "After you come back from an injury you start realizing how lucky you are when you are pain-free and you enjoy more tennis."
As pointed out by WTA Insider, the 25-year-old was enjoying a good string of play in Brazil prior to Saturday's loss and will receive a big rankings boost because of it:
She didn't have enough to take down Rogers, though, and much of that had to do with the service game, as the 23-year-old American won over half her points on both first and second serves, per Tennis TV:
When Rogers and Schiavone clash on Sunday, the experience disparity will be massive. Rogers has never won a WTA singles title in her young career, while Schiavone is a former Grand Slam champion.
A win for Schiavone could mean a return to relevance, while a victory may be precisely what Rogers needs in order to get over the hump and make some noise in the rankings.
The lack of star power in the Rio Open women's draw has allowed some different players to shine, and neither Schiavone nor Rogers can afford to let that opportunity go by the wayside with the French Open less than three months away.
Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter.
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