Sports briefly: Rafael Nadal wins, reaches risky semifinals

Rafael Nadal put away Fernando Verdasco 6-4, 6-0 at the Italian Open in Rome on Friday to reach the semifinals after losing only six games in his six sets of tennis at the tournament.

Yet he ought to be a little nervous.

Nadal has fallen in the semifinals of his past three tournaments, all on his favored clay, and it appears others are finding Rome unpredictable.

Nadal next faces Stefanos Tsitsipas, to whom Nadal lost in Madrid last week.

"I know what happened last week, and I [am] going to try to do it better tomorrow," Nadal said. "I have to hold the level or increase a little bit more. The good thing is during the last month my feeling is every week was better than the previous one."

Elsewhere in the tournament, top-ranked Novak Djokovic outlasted Juan Martin del Potro 4-6, 7-6 (6), 6-4.

Roger Federer and top-ranked women's player Naomi Osaka withdrew before their quarterfinals because of injuries.

• John Isner pulled out of the French Open because of an injured left foot, which will end his streak of 24 consecutive appearances at Grand Slam tournaments. Isner is ranked No. 11, the top American man, but has not competed since the Miami Open final March 31.

Santa Anita's run of six weeks without an equine fatality ended Friday morning when Commander Coil broke down during training with a shoulder injury and was euthanized.

Santa Anita has had 24 horse deaths since Dec. 26 but had gone 7,000 races and workouts without one.

NBA: The league banned Indiana guard Tyreke Evans for at least two years for violating the league's drug policy. He can apply for reinstatement in 2021.

NHL: John Davidson was hired as president of the New York Rangers hours after leaving the Columbus Blue Jackets, where he had been president of hockey operations seven years.

College football: Mississippi State added quarterback Tommy Stevens, a graduate transfer from Penn State who will be eligible immediately.

NFL: The Baltimore Ravens signed veteran wide receiver Michael Floyd, who is from Cretin-Derham Hall High School and previously played for the Vikings.

MLS: LA Galaxy forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic was suspended two games by Major League Soccer for his conduct during last weekend's game against New York City FC. He grabbed an opposing player by the neck.

Truck racing: Kyle Busch won his sixth consecutive NASCAR Trucks race, tying a series record, at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway. His Truck Series season is over; he won all five races he entered.