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52 Sport maltatoday, SUNDAY, 2 AUGUST 2015 TENNIS (+356) 800 737 70 Freephone: cabs t minivans t vip transport t luxury coaches t vintage buses 2138 9575 / 9921 5286 info@cabs.com.mt w w w . c a b s . c o m . m t Rafael Nadal reaches Hamburg Open final RAFAEL Nadal is into the final of the Hamburg Open following a comfortable 6-1 6-2 win over Italian Andreas Seppi. The Spaniard, who is chasing a record 47th clay title, broke his opponent seven times to seal vic- tory in an hour and 18 minutes. The world number 10 will now face another Italian, Fabio Fogni- ni, in the final. Nadal is looking to extend his streak of having won at least one European clay court title every year since 2004. The former number 1 has dropped to 10th in the rankings and is playing his first tourna- ment since losing in the second round of Wimbledon. He won in Hamburg in 2008, the last time he played in the clay-court event. Nadal served a double-fault at match point in the seventh game before breaking serve in the next to win. He holds a 4-2 career edge over Fognini, the 2013 Hamburg champion. Fognini and his partner Simone Bolelli withdrew from their men's doubles semi-final on Saturday, gifting a final spot to Jamie Mur- ray and John Peers. In the final, Murray and his Australian partner, who were beaten in the doubles final at Wimbledon last month, will face Colombian duo Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah. Rafael Nadal reaches the Hamburg Open final Injury forces Serena to withdraw SERENA Williams has pulled out of next week's WTA Tour event in Stanford, California, due to injury. The world number one has a sore right elbow and has withdrawn from the hard court event which was due to have been the start of her build up towards the US Open. "I'm disappointed to miss the Bank of the West Classic but I need to get my elbow back to 100 per cent," Williams said. "The tournament is one of my fa- vourites and the fans have always been so generous and supportive of me. I wish all of the players much success and I hope to return next year." Her next scheduled event is the hard court tournament in Toronto in two weeks time. Stanford tournament director Vickie Gunnarsson said: "Serena is having a historic season and we wish her a speedy recovery as she prepares for the US Open. "Unfortunately, injuries are part of sport and the health of the play- ers is always the number one prior- ity." Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki will now be installed as the top seed in Williams' absence. Serena Williams