Wednesday, June 04, 2008
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Nadal, Djokovic to meet in French Open semis

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[June 04, 2008]  PARIS (AP) -- The big birthday cake for Rafael Nadal was decorated with sparklers, flowers, tennis balls and the words "Feliz Cupleanos."

There was champagne to wash it down, but Nadal declined a flute. He's hoping to save some celebrating for Sunday.

Nadal was toasted on his 22th birthday Tuesday after he gave himself another berth in the French Open semifinals. The three-time defending champion drubbed fellow Spaniard Nicolas Almagro 6-1, 6-1, 6-1, the most lopsided victory by Nadal in two days.

InvestmentOn that occasion, he routed yet another poor Spaniard, Fernando Verdasco, 6-1, 6-0, 6-2.

"I play better and better every match," Nadal said.

The going's about to get tougher. A potential final looms Sunday against No. 1-ranked Roger Federer, but first No. 2 Nadal must beat No. 3 Novak Djokovic in a semifinal widely anticipated since the draw was held nearly two weeks ago.

Nadal is 7-3 against Djokovic and 26-0 at Roland Garros.

"I don't want to go out there in the semis and just try my best," Djokovic said. "I want to win, and I think I have good quality and a good chance. Of course he's a favorite, and all the credit to that, but only with a positive attitude and approach in the match I can get the positive outcome."

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The Australian Open champion, Djokovic is bidding for his second successive major title. He survived a serious challenge in the semifinals, beating precocious 19-year-old Ernests Gulbis 7-5, 7-6 (3), 7-5.

Djokovic has reached five consecutive Grand Slam semifinals, joining Federer, Ivan Lendl and Boris Becker as the only men to accomplish the feat in the 40-year Open era.

"He plays at a very high level," Nadal said, "but I also play well."

Against Almagro, Nadal lost the first game before winning nine in a row -- his longest such streak since his previous match, when he swept 10 in a row. He finished with only nine unforced errors, an astounding total given the grind required on clay.

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It was only the third time a man has lost fewer than four games in a Grand Slam quarterfinal in the Open era. The rout was especially striking because the No. 19-seeded Almagro is no pushover on clay, with a tour-high 29 victories on the surface this season.

Nadal denied the match was as stress-free as he made it appear.

"I have the same pressure like everybody," he said. "I feel nervous before the match always. The result was calm, but the feeling not."

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Nadal has lost 25 games through five rounds, the lowest total at that stage of a Grand Slam in the Open era.

"Impressive," Djokovic said. "He has been playing better and better."

That's saying a lot, considering Nadal is two victories from becoming the first man since Bjorn Borg in 1978-81 to win the clay-court major championship four consecutive times.

On the women's side, No. 2-seeded Ana Ivanovic and No. 3 Jelena Jankovic advanced and will meet in an all-Serb semifinal Thursday. Ivanovic beat Patty Schnyder 6-3, 6-2, and Jankovic defeated unseeded Carla Suarez Navarro by the same score.

With rain interrupting the schedule nearly every day, the backlog of matches pushed two women's quarterfinals to Wednesday. No. 7-seeded Elena Dementieva was to play No. 13 Dinara Safina, and No. 4 Svetlana Kuznetsova was to meet Kaia Kanepi, the first Estonian quarterfinalist at a major tournament.

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On the men's side, Federer was to face No. 24 Fernando Gonzalez, and No. 5 David Ferrer was to meet unseeded Gael Monfils, the only French player remaining.

Gulbis showed his first Grand Slam quarterfinal berth was no fluke, displaying a mix of power and finesse that kept Djokovic off balance. The two practiced together as youngsters at a tennis academy in Munich, and when their latest hitting session ended, Djokovic gave Gulbis a friendly pat on the chest as both smiled.

Djokovic looked shaky early and failed to convert his first 11 break-point chances. He came through on the 12th to end the first set, then fell behind 3-1 in the second set before he began to strike the ball with his customary crispness and consistency.

"I tried to play a bit more patient and more safe in certain moments," Djokovic said. "But this is not going to be the case in the next match."

[Associated Press; By STEVEN WINE]

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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