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Nadal solves the Blake puzzle

To meet Djokovic in the semifinals; Ivanovic in irresistible form

INDIAN WELLS: Defending champion Rafael Nadal beat James Blake for the first time in their four meetings to move into the Pacific Life Open semifinals here on Thursday.

Nadal finished off a 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 victory over his American opponent with an ace, then sank to his knees and thrust his arms skyward.

He had taken the upperhand in the tight match when he broke Blake’s service for a 5-3 lead in the third set. The Spaniard, ranked No. 2 behind Roger Federer, then served out without losing another point.

The ninth-ranked Blake had beaten Nadal in the U.S. Open in 2005, and also defeated him twice in 2006, including the semifinals in Indian Wells.

Important matches

Nadal said that ending Blake’s streak against him wasn’t the big thing, but “the thing is being in the semifinals and beating two big players like (Jo-Wilfried) Tsonga and Blake. It was two very important matches.”

The 28-year-old Blake complimented Nadal, still just 21 despite his long list of Tour accomplishments. “He’s No. 2 in the world for a reason, and he did make his presence felt out there,” Blake said. “I didn’t do enough to hurt him on the big points.”

Nadal will face Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic in Saturday’s semifinal.

Djokovic and Ana Ivanovic, both 20-year-old Serbs who have joined the ranks of tennis’ elite, won in straight sets to move into the semifinals.

Djokovic defeated Stanislas Wawrinka 7-6(5), 6-2 to advance in the men’s tournament, and No. 2 Ivanovic beat Vera Zvonareva 6-1, 6-4 on the women’s side.

Jankovic in semifinals

Two-time champion Lindsay Davenport had to retire from her match against Jelena Jankovic after the first set because of a back problem. Jankovic, also from Serbia, won the set 6-2.

Davenport, who has had back trouble in the past, said she thought lingering tightness might go away while she was playing.

“It was pretty obvious to me after two games that I was pretty sore,” she said. “I tried to do the best I could. Sometimes these things happen, and when you’re familiar with an injury, you kind of know rightaway what you’re up against.”

Davenport hopes the problem will clear up quickly so that she can play at Miami in the tournament that begins next week. “We’ll just have to see what the next few days bring,” she said.

Celebration time

The third-seeded Djokovic, down 6-5 in the opening set, broke Wawrinka’s serve to set up the tie-breaker. Then, when Wawrinka was unable to return his volley for the final point of the tie-breaker, Djokovic celebrated by dropping to his knees, yelling in glee and pounding his chest with both hands.

“I’m a very emotional player on the court and a very emotional person off the court as well,” said Djokovic, also known for his sense of humour. “As you could see by the reaction, it was one of the — not one of the, probably the most important point of the match.”

It proved a turning point, as he went on to take control in the second set.

Djokovic beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the Australian Open final after upsetting No. 1 Roger Federer in the semifinals. It was Djokovic’s first Grand Slam title and the first time since 2005 when someone other than Federer or Rafael Nadal had won a Grand Slam tournament.

Superb start

Ivanovic, the tournament’s top seed, got off to a quick start against Zvonareva, taking just some 10 minutes to win the first four games against her Russian opponent.

“She beat me a few times quite easily, so I knew I had to be active and sharp from the first moment to put pressure on her,” said Ivanovic, who had split four previous matches against Zvonareva.

Ivanovic, who lost to Maria Sharapova in the Australian Open final, will face Jankovic in one semifinal. The other semifinal will be between Russians Sharapova and Svetlana Kuznetsova.

The women’s and men’s finals will be played on Sunday.

The results (quarterfinals):

Men: Novak Djokovic bt Stanislas Wawrinka 7-6(2), 6-2; Rafael Nadal bt James Blake 7-5, 3-6, 6-3.

Women: Ana Ivanovic bt Vera Zvonareva 6-1, 6-4; Jelena Jankovic bt Lindsay Davenport 6-2, retd. — AP

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