Nadal, Wozniacki survive seeds cull
Source: Agencies |
March 19, 2010, Friday
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RAFAEL Nadal restored order on a day of upsets with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 fourth-round victory over big-serving American John Isner at the BNP Paribas Open on Wednesday, after Novak Djokovic and Elena Dementieva were ousted.
Seeking his third title at Indian Wells, California, No. 3 seed Nadal withstood Isner's serve-and-volley game under the searing afternoon sun in front of a partisan crowd backing one of only two American men remaining.
Nadal ended things with a forehand winner into the open court, prompting a loud yell from the defending champion who is back in action after a six-week injury layoff.
"I am feeling really well, and I am feeling good on court," said Nadal, playing his first tournament since the Australian Open, when he was hampered by knee injuries that also bothered him last summer.
Nadal rested after his singles match, then went out and won his doubles quarterfinal with countryman Marc Lopez.
"I can return more aggressive than the singles and I practice a little bit more the serve," he said. "I play more relaxed. I feel my volley improves in the last three days, so that's the important thing."
Isner fired 22 aces and had just one double-fault in his first match against Nadal.
Nadal advanced to the quarterfinals against 19th-seeded Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic, a 6-1, 6-1 winner over No. 29 Viktor Troicki of Serbia.
No. 7 Andy Roddick defeated 22nd-seeded Jurgen Melzer 7-6 (5), 6-4, improving to 10 matches without loss against the Austrian. He'll next face No. 18 Tommy Robredo of Spain, who outlasted the 27th-seeded Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis 7-5, 0-6, 6-4.
Andy Murray led Nicolas Almagro 6-2, 1-0 when the Spaniard retired with a left ankle injury. Scotsman Murray will play sixth-seeded Robin Soderling of Sweden, who defeated France's No. 9 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 6-3, 6-4.
No. 2 Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark rallied to beat 18th-seeded Zheng Jie of China, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1, for the first time in three meetings.
Second-seeded Djokovic, the highest seeded men's player remaining and the 2008 winner, lost 5-7, 3-6 to No. 20 seed Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia, a day after top-ranked Roger Federer dropped a third-set tiebreaker to Baghdatis after holding three match points.
No. 4 Dementieva struggled with her footwork in a 4-6, 3-6 quarterfinal defeat to fifth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland, who has yet to drop a set in four matches.
Former winner Dementieva's loss cleared the way for a first-time women's champion to be crowned on Sunday.
Ljubicic hadn't beaten Djokovic since their first clash in 2006, losing five in a row. But he believed the Serb was vulnerable because of his recent playing and travel schedule.
"He has to aim to be 100 percent fit if he wants to win this tournament, and he wasn't. If I didn't get him, somebody would on the way," Ljubicic said. "He was already struggling in Dubai. He played long matches there, and after that he went to Serbia, played Davis Cup, and then traveled here."
Ljubicic moves on to a quarterfinal against No. 21 Juan Monaco of Argentina, who got by Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 3-6, 6-2, 6-1.
Seeking his third title at Indian Wells, California, No. 3 seed Nadal withstood Isner's serve-and-volley game under the searing afternoon sun in front of a partisan crowd backing one of only two American men remaining.
Nadal ended things with a forehand winner into the open court, prompting a loud yell from the defending champion who is back in action after a six-week injury layoff.
"I am feeling really well, and I am feeling good on court," said Nadal, playing his first tournament since the Australian Open, when he was hampered by knee injuries that also bothered him last summer.
Nadal rested after his singles match, then went out and won his doubles quarterfinal with countryman Marc Lopez.
"I can return more aggressive than the singles and I practice a little bit more the serve," he said. "I play more relaxed. I feel my volley improves in the last three days, so that's the important thing."
Isner fired 22 aces and had just one double-fault in his first match against Nadal.
Nadal advanced to the quarterfinals against 19th-seeded Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic, a 6-1, 6-1 winner over No. 29 Viktor Troicki of Serbia.
No. 7 Andy Roddick defeated 22nd-seeded Jurgen Melzer 7-6 (5), 6-4, improving to 10 matches without loss against the Austrian. He'll next face No. 18 Tommy Robredo of Spain, who outlasted the 27th-seeded Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis 7-5, 0-6, 6-4.
Andy Murray led Nicolas Almagro 6-2, 1-0 when the Spaniard retired with a left ankle injury. Scotsman Murray will play sixth-seeded Robin Soderling of Sweden, who defeated France's No. 9 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 6-3, 6-4.
No. 2 Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark rallied to beat 18th-seeded Zheng Jie of China, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1, for the first time in three meetings.
Second-seeded Djokovic, the highest seeded men's player remaining and the 2008 winner, lost 5-7, 3-6 to No. 20 seed Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia, a day after top-ranked Roger Federer dropped a third-set tiebreaker to Baghdatis after holding three match points.
No. 4 Dementieva struggled with her footwork in a 4-6, 3-6 quarterfinal defeat to fifth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland, who has yet to drop a set in four matches.
Former winner Dementieva's loss cleared the way for a first-time women's champion to be crowned on Sunday.
Ljubicic hadn't beaten Djokovic since their first clash in 2006, losing five in a row. But he believed the Serb was vulnerable because of his recent playing and travel schedule.
"He has to aim to be 100 percent fit if he wants to win this tournament, and he wasn't. If I didn't get him, somebody would on the way," Ljubicic said. "He was already struggling in Dubai. He played long matches there, and after that he went to Serbia, played Davis Cup, and then traveled here."
Ljubicic moves on to a quarterfinal against No. 21 Juan Monaco of Argentina, who got by Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 3-6, 6-2, 6-1.
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