The Hindu : Sport / Tennis : Roddick upsets Nadal; Davydenko beats Murray

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Roddick upsets Nadal; Davydenko beats Murray

DUBAI: Sixth-seeded Andy Roddick caused the biggest upset of the day at the Dubai Tennis Championship, beating World No. 2 Rafael Nadal 7-6(5), 6-2 in the quarterfinals on Thursday.

With this, the American has drawn level at 2-2, with the Spaniard on head-to-head record.

Nikolay Davydenko beat Andy Murray 7-5, 6-4 to reach the semifinals. The Scot, who upset top-ranked Roger Federer in the first round, was forced out of his defensive game by the fifth-ranked Russian’s serving and movement on the baseline.

“I played well,” said Davydenko, who trailed 3-0 in the second set. “If you are crazy, you can lose your match... If you are concentrated you can win every game.”

“I’m not terribly disappointed with the week as a whole,” Murray said.

Feliciano Lopez also advanced to the semifinals, beating fourth-seeded David Ferrer of Spain 6-4, 6-3.

Lopez used a powerful serve throughout the match, finishing Ferrer off with an ace.

“You give your best always,” the 41st-ranked Spaniard said. “Right now, I’m so happy to be in semifinals.”

Meanwhile, Rohan Bopanna and his Pakistani partner Aisam-ul-Haq-Qureshi squandered a one-set advantage against the top seeded pair of Daniel Nestor and Nenand Zimonjic in the doubles quarterfinals. The Indo-Pakistan combine lost 2-6, 7-6(5), 10-6 in an encounter which lasted one hour and 24 minutes.

Hewitt ousted

Lleyton Hewitt’s luck in Las Vegas ran out on Wednesday, as the second-seeded Australian crashed out of the Tennis Channel Open at the hands of France’s Julien Benneteau. Benneteau shocked the defending champion 6-3, 7-5 to book a quarterfinal berth against American Sam Querrey.

Hewitt, 27, has dominated the event in recent years. He won the title in 2000 and 2003 as well as last year, and had reached the final in five of his six appearances, including the past two years.

But Benneteau brought that run of success to a screeching halt. He broke Hewitt five times to hand him just his fourth defeat in his last 31 matches at the tournament. Hewitt, ranked 24th in the world, had cruised to a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Marat Safin in the first round. However, his serve let him down against Benneteau.

Benneteau broke Hewitt twice en route to taking the first set and broke him twice again to lead 5-3 in the second. Hewitt, showing a flash of the form that has earned him 26 career titles, held serve then regained a break as Benneteau double-faulted to even the second set at 5-5. Benneteau, however, broke back and served out the match.

“It’s a good win,” Benneteau told reporters. “I’m very happy about this match and I hope to be fit like this in the quarter-final on Friday.”

The results: At Dubai (Dubai Tennis Championship): Quarterfinals: Feliciano Lopez bt David Ferrer 6-4, 6-3; Nikolay Davydenko bt Andy Murray 7-5, 6-4; Andy Roddick bt Rafael Nadal 7-6(5), 6-2. Doubles: Daniel Nestor & Nenad Zimonjic bt Rohan Bopanna & Aisam ul Haq Qureshi 2-6, 7-6(5), 10-6.