RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil -- Top-seeded Rafael Nadal reached the semifinals of the Rio Open, showing no problems with a sore back in defeating Joao Sousa of Portugal 6-1, 6-0 on Friday. No. 1-ranked Nadal, in his first tournament since losing the Australian Open final, played his best match in Brazil and will face fellow Spaniard Pablo Andujar in the semifinals. Andjuar ripped through Tommy Robredo of Spain 6-1, 6-1. In the other semifinal, second-seeded David Ferrer will meet unseeded Alexandr Dolgopolov. Ferrer defeated Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 and Dolgopolov of Ukraine advanced against third-seeded Fabio Fognini 6-1, 6-1. Ferrer has won 21 ATP singles title and will be the favourite to reach the final on Sunday against Nadal with 61 titles including 13 Grand Slams. "I think I have improved in everything," Nadal said. "I think I played a complete match. I had my best game of the tournament, and not just that but I played at a very high level. Really, I did things I wasnt able to do a few days ago. I moved better. I was more intense, more aggressive." Asked about the back, Nadal backed off. "Were not going to talk every day about the back," he said. "Im in the semifinals." Nadal tweaked his back warming up for the final in Melbourne, eventually losing to Stanislas Wawrinka in a match he was favoured to win. He took several weeks off and is using Rio to tune up for three months of clay-court play leading to the French Open. Ferrer and Bellucci had to wait for more than an hour with the Spaniard leading 2-1 in the third set when the lights went out at the outdoor stadium. "It was really tough," Ferrer said. "When the match was stopped it was practically in my hands. It was bad luck with what happened with the lights." Dolgopolov was asked if he planned to return to Ukraine, perhaps pulling out of the tournament to go to a country bordering on civil war. "I dont think its going to change a lot at this point if I just finished playing and come back to my country," said Dolgopolov, who lives in the wealthy European enclave of Monte Carlo. "Its still going to be the same situation. I will just be closer. But I am not considering that at this moment." In the combined ATP-WTA event, top-seeded Klara Zakopalova of the Czech Republic reached the semifinals, defeating Katarzyna Piter of Poland 6-4, 6-0. Zakopalova will face Brazilian Teliana Pereira, who defeated Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania 6-4, 6-4. Pereira is a home favourite and the first Brazilian woman in 23 years to crack the WTA top 100. "She (Zakopalova) is the favourite, the top-seeded player," Pereira said. "I have to play like I did today and keep my good rhythm. But I have a lot of confidence and I will have the Brazilian fans behind me." Brazils most famous female player is still Maria Bueno, who won seven Grand Slam singles titles, the last in the 1966 US Open. Zakopalova will be looking for her third WTA singles title. None of the other semifinalists has won a WTA singles title. Japans Kurumi Nara also advanced. She won the first set 7-6 (5), and was leading the second 2-0 when Spains Lourdes Dominguez Lino withdrew with a left leg injury. She will face Nastassja Burnett of Italy, who defeated Paula Ormaechea of Argentina 5-7, 6-2, 7-5. Derrick Rose Team USA Jersey .Y. -- Kristen Gillman rallied to win the U. Patrick Ewing Team USA Jersey . - The Pittsburgh Pirates plan on keeping promising left fielder Starling Marte playing alongside National League MVP Andrew McCutchen for years to come. http://www.teamusaolympicsshop.us/Olympi...r-Usa-Jersey/.C. -- Gleason Fournier scored the shootout winner as the Grand Rapids Griffins defeated the Abbotsford Heat 4-3 Friday in American Hockey League action. David Robinson USA Jersey . – Team Canadas Brooke Henderson carded a 4-under 67 at Craigowan Golf and Country Club to jump into the lead at the Canadian Womens Amateur Championship on Wednesday. Chris Paul Team USA Jersey .com) - The Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies have finalized their agreed-upon trade that sends former National League MVP Jimmy Rollins to the West Coast for a pair of minor league pitching prospects.NEW YORK -- Welcome to Day 2 of the NFL Draft. Plenty of running backs are still available. For the second straight year, no running backs were selected in the first round. Before last year, that had never happened in the common draft era, which started in 1967 with the merger of the NFL and AFL. Once one of the footballs glamour positions, running backs have now been relegated to role players in the NFL. Star college backs such as Carlos Hyde, Bishop Sankey, Tre Mason and KaDeem Carey should start coming off the boards Friday night, when Rounds 2 and 3 are held at Radio City Music Hall. Round 1 on Thursday night started with South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney going to the Houston Texans and ended with the Minnesota Vikings trading back into the first round to pick Teddy Bridgewater. The Louisville quarterback wasnt the only high-profile passer to have a long wait backstage. Texas A&Ms Johnny Manziel waited about 3 hours before the Browns pulled off a trade to take the 2012 Heisman Trophy winner with pick No. 22. Now Johnny Football is Johnny Cleveland and the Texans are back on the clock, maybe looking for quarterback. Houston has the first pick of the second round. The Washington Redskins will get their draft started on Friday, with the second pick of Round 2, No. 34 overall. The defending Super Bowl champion Seahawks also have yet to make it pick. Seattle traded out of the first round, giving the Vikings the 32nd pick they used to take Bridgewater and getting back Nos. 40 and 108. Barring a trade up, Indianapolis would be the last team to draft. The Colts first pick is the 27th of the second round, No. 59 overall. Here are five things to look for on Day 2 of the NFL Draft. RUNNING MEN: Who will be the first running back off the board, and which team will break the seal? Ohio States Hyde is a good bet to be the answer to the first question. Hes big (230 pounds) and quick and doesnt have many miles on those big legs compared to some of the other workhorse backs. Arizonas Carey had 652 carries in his last two college seasons. Washingtons Sankey had 616. Hyde had 523 in four seasons at Ohio State. Mason, a Heisman finalist from Auburn, was relatively lightly used -- until last season. Other top running backs: LSUs Jeremy Hilll; West Virginias Charles Sims; Towsons Terrance West; and Boston Colleges Andre Williams, another Heisman finalist.dddddddddddd Teams in need of a back include Jacksonville, Tennessee, Cleveland and Miami. With running-back-by-committee all the rage, teams like to stockpile at the position -- without using first-round picks. STILL IN THE GREEN ROOM: Thirty players attended the NFL draft, so its no surprise that more than a few will have to return to Radio City for Day 2. Unpicked after the first round were: Missouri defensive end Kony Ealy; Eastern Illinois quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo; Minnesota defensive tackle RaShede Hageman; Alabama offensive tackle Cyrus Kouandjio; Indiana receiver Cody Latimer; USC receiver Marqise Lee; USC centre Marcus Martin; Vanderbilt receiver Jordan Matthews; and Virginia tackle Morgan Moses. CATCHING ON: If your team still needs a receiver after five were taken in Round 1, no need to fret. There is plenty of talent left at what is considered the deepest position in the draft. Start with Lee, who was being talked about as a possible top-10 pick after he was an All-American as a sophomore. A spotty junior season dropped his stock, but he could be a Day 2 steal. Dont be surprised if there is a run on receivers Friday with Matthews and Latimer, along with Fresno States Davante Adams, Mississippis Donte Moncrief, Penn States Allen Robinson and LSUs Jarvis Landry among those picked. OBRIENS QB. New Texans coach Bill OBrien said the team would draft a quarterback at some point. At the top of the second round Fresno States Derek Carr is available, along with Garoppolo, Pittsburghs Tom Savage, LSUs Zach Mettenberger, Alabamas AJ McCarron and Georgias Aaron Murray. Houston might be willing to wait until Day 3 to address quarterback. On Thursday, there were published reports the team was working to trade for Patriots backup Ryan Mallett. WHAT ABOUT SAM? Missouri linebacker Michael Sam, who publicly came out as homosexual in February, is hoping to be drafted this weekend, but its probably overly optimistic to expect him to be selected Friday. Its more likely the focus on when, where and if Sam goes will occur Saturday during rounds four through seven. The NFL has never had an active, openly gay player. 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