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Nadal triumphs in Indian Wells thriller

Svetlana Kuznetsova returns the ball against Agnieska Radwanska in the quarter-finals of the Pacific Life Open tennis tournament in Indian Wells, California, on Wednesday. PHOTO: AP

Rafael Nadal came back to win the final five games and beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Wednesday in an intense, crowd-pleasing rematch of their Australian Open semi-final.

Nadal, the defending Indian Wells champion, avenged his lopsided loss in Melbourne with a scrappy 6-7 (4), 7-6 (3) 7-5 victory in the fourth round of the Pacific Life Open.

After Tsonga, a hard-hitting Frenchman, went up 5-2 in the third set, Nadal held serve the rest of the way and broke Tsonga's serve in the ninth and 11th games to take a 6-5 lead.

With the crowd beginning to cheer even as he set up for the shot, Nadal capped the match by slamming an overhead past Tsonga.

The Spaniard insisted he wasn't out for revenge, but acknowledged that the match was significant in another way.

"He is going to be one of the rivals for this year, will try to be in the top positions, so I try to win. These matches are very important always," the 21-year-old said.

Tsonga considered the match important for another reason.

"He is going to be one of the rivals for this year, will try to be in the top positions, so I try to win. These matches are very important always."

Rafael Nadal

"I would like to show everybody my run in the Australian Open was not luck," he said. "I want to prove to everybody I can play at this level, so I'm disappointed about this."

Tsonga played brilliantly at times in the rematch against Nadal, but mistakes cost him at other times.

After ending a long rally when both hit several outstanding shots, Tsonga ended it with a drop shot that Nadal somehow managed to hit back, then a bang-bang volley that left Nadal lying on the ground at the end of the point. That brought Tsonga back from a 15-40 deficit to deuce in the 11th game, but he quickly followed that with a double-fault, then hit a forehand long to lose the game.

Driving powerful forehands down the lines, Tsonga had 47 winners overall -- but made 56 unforced errors. The far more consistent Nadal finished with 27 winners and 27 unforced errors. Tsonga, who had 18 aces when he stunned Nadal in Australia, had 11 against him at Indian Wells, but also double-faulted seven times.

The match lasted 3 hours, 3 minutes, and the crowd seemed rapt, reacting loudly to practically every point. Some fans yelled "Go, Ali!" a Tsonga nickname alluding to his resemblance to boxing great Muhammad Ali, and others screaming, "You can do it, Rafa!"

World No. 1 Roger Federer, bidding for his fourth Indian Wells title in five years, cruised to a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Ivan Ljubicic to also move into the quarter-finals.

Maria Sharapova extended her unbeaten record this year to 18 matches and reached the women's semi-finals with a 7-6(2), 6-1 victory over defending champion Daniela Hantuchova. Sharapova won the tournament in 2006, and Hantuchova has taken the title twice, the first time in 2002.

James Blake earned a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Richard Gasquet, and Mardy Fish beat Lleyton Hewitt 7-5, 3-6, 7-6(4) to advance to the quarter-finals.

In other matches, Djokovic advanced with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Guillermo Canas; Tommy Haas edged Andy Murray 2-6, 7-5, 6-3; and David Nalbandian beat Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-2, 6-2.

In a women's quarter-final, Russia's Svetlana Kuznetsova beat Pole Agnieszka Radwanska 6-2, 6-4.
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