Summary Rafael Nadal reached the Rio Open semi-finals without even hitting a ball on Friday.
RIO DE JANEIRO (AFP) - Former world number one Rafael Nadal reached the Rio Open semi-finals without even hitting a ball on Friday as Aleksandr Dolgopolov withdrew injured from their last eight tie.
Nadal is playing at the low-key clay court event in a bid to find his form ahead of a tilt at an unprecedented 10th French Open crown in June.
The 29-year-old has dropped to number five in the world after an injury-hit 2015 and suffered a shock semi-final defeat to Austria s Dominic Thiem in the Buenos Aires semi-finals last week -- he was the defending champion.
The Rio Open s official Twitter account revealed the news of Dolgopolov s injury.
"Dolgopolov was forced to withdraw due to injury. Dolgopolov injury: right shoulder," it said.
Spaniard Nadal will play either Uruguay s Pablo Cuevas or Federico Delbonis of Argentina in the last four on Saturday.
