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Nadal meets Federer

— PHOTO: AFP

BOUNCING BACK:Maria Sharapova rallied to beat Andrea Petkovic in the semifinals of the Sony Ericsson Open on Thursday.

MIAMI: World No. 1 Rafael Nadal will meet Swiss rival Roger Federer in a rare semifinal showdown that will be their first match on American soil in six years.

Spain's Nadal reached the last four at the $9 million Masters tennis tournament on Thursday by beating Czech Tomas Berdych 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.

Third seed Federer barely broke a sweat as his quarterfinal match was called off after just 10 minutes when Frenchman Gilles Simon couldn't continue because of a neck injury.

Meanwhile, India's Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes defeated Austria's Oliver Marach and Serbia's Janko Tipsarevic 6-3, 5-7, 11-9 in the men's doubles semifinal.

The last time Federer and Nadal faced each other in the United States was the 2005 Miami championship game in which Federer rallied from two sets down to beat Nadal 2-6, 6-7(4), 7-6(5), 6-3, 6-1 for the title.

The two women's finalists were confirmed on Thursday. Eighth-seeded Victoria Azarenka of Belarus beat Russian third seed Vera Zvonareva 6-0, 6-3 in a night match to reach the final.

Azarenka next faces former World No. 1 Maria Sharapova who rallied for a 3-6, 6-0, 6-2 victory over German Andrea Petkovic in the other semifinal.

The results: Men: Quarterfinals: Roger Federer bt Gilles Simon 3-0 (retd.); Rafael Nadal bt Tomas Berdych 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.

Doubles: Semifinals: Mahesh Bhupathi & Leander Paes bt Oliver Marach & Janko Tipsarevic 6-3, 5-7, 11-9; Max Mirnyi & Daniel Nestor bt Jurgen Melzer & Philipp Petzschner 6-4, 6-1.

Women: Semifinals: Maria Sharapova bt Andrea Petkovic 3-6, 6-0, 6-2; Victoria Azarenka bt Vera Zvonareva 6-0, 6-3 . — Agencies

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