BEIJING — Rafael Nadal reached his first hard-court semifinal of the year by outlasting Jack Sock of the United States 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 at the China Open on Friday.
The third-seeded Spaniard had lost before the semifinals in seven previous hard-court tournaments in what has been a disappointing season. His last title on hard courts came in Doha, Qatar, in January 2014.
Nadal was more consistent than his American opponent, making 25 unforced errors to Sock's 35. After dropping serve twice in the opening set, he only faced one more break point, which he saved.
In the women's quarterfinals, Switzerland's Timea Bacsinszky rebounded to defeat Sara Errani of Italy 0-6, 6-3, 7-5 to move within one win of cracking the top 10 for the first time in her career.