Nadal rallies to defeat Tsonga

INDIAN WELLS, California: Rafael Nadal eked out a victory over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Wednesday, avenging an Australian Open defeat and reaching the quarterfinals of the Pacific Life Open.

Nadal, the men's defending champion and second seed at the $5.7 million WTA and ATP Masters Series event, defeated France's Tsonga 6-7 (4), 7-6 (3), 7-5, rallying from a 2-5 deficit in the third set to snatch the win.

"The important thing is to be there all the time, to believe in the victory," said Nadal, who has held the world No 2 ranking for 139 straight weeks - all behind Swiss Roger Federer.

Federer, in search of his first tournament title of 2008, punched his quarterfinal ticket with relative ease, defeating Croatian Ivan Ljubicic 6-3, 6-4.

But the drama occurred earlier in the day as Tsonga tried to reprise his stunning semifinal win over Nadal at the Australian Open, where his runner-up finish catapulted him from 38th to 18th in the rankings.

Tsonga, now ranked 17th in the world, lost his only other meeting with Nadal at the US Open last September. But he appeared poised for victory in the rubber match when he broke Nadal for a 4-2 lead in the third set, then held for 5-2.

But he was broken himself as he served for the match at 5-3, his deep forehand attempt missing wide on break point.

Two games later he dropped his serve again to hand Nadal a 6-5 lead, and the Spaniard duly served out the match.

Both players said the contest differed greatly from their Melbourne match, which Tsonga won in straight sets.

The slower hardcourt of Indian Wells played to Nadal's strengths, while Tsonga was more erratic. The Frenchman's big serve faded as the match wore on, with none of his 12 aces coming in the third set.

"It was not the same Jo," Tsonga said. "I'm not at my best, but today I fought. I'm not that far away, so that's really a positive point."

Nadal downplayed the revenge aspect of the match.

"It's always important to beat a player that beat me the last time," he said. "But it's not revenge."

More important, Nadal said, was to pull out a match he came so close to losing.

"A victory like this is always special and gives me confidence," he said.

In the quarterfinals, Nadal will meet US ninth seed James Blake, who defeated eighth-seeded Richard Gasquet of France 6-4, 6-2. Blake has won all three of his prior encounters with Nadal.

Federer will face unseeded German Tommy Haas, who rallied to beat 11th-seeded Briton Andy Murray 2-6, 7-5, 6-3.

Haas, on the comeback trail again after undergoing a third shoulder surgery in November, admitted he was pleased to settle the score after falling to Murray in the fourth round here last year.

"It's nice to get your revenge back at the same place," Haas said. "It was another great match, very exciting. I came up with the goods at the right time."

Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic of Serbia, the third seed, booked a quarter-final berth with a no-nonsense 6-2, 6-3 victory over Argentina's Guillermo Canas.

Djokovic, 20, was runner-up to Nadal here last year. He will face unseeded Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka, a 6-1, 5-7, 6-4 winner over South Korean Lee Hyung-Taik.

Unseeded American Mardy Fish ended Lleyton Hewitt's bid for a third Indian Wells title with a 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (4) win over the Australian.

The women's side saw an Australian Open rematch as well, as second-seeded Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova gained a measure of revenge for a third-round defeat in Melbourne with a 6-2, 6-4 quarterfinal win over Agnieszka Radwanska.

In the semifinals Kuznetsova will face Australian Open champion Maria Sharapova, who saved two set points in the opening set en route to a 7-6 (2), 6-1 victory over defending champion and fifth seed Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia.

Sharapova, the fourth seed, remained unbeaten in 2008 with 18 straight match wins.

AFP

(China Daily 03/21/2008 page24)