Andy Roddick, who flew almost 10,000km and endured jet-lag and sleep loss to travel from Memphis to the Dubai Open, overcame Rafael Nadal, the man regarded as one of the fittest on the tour, to become a surprise semi-finalist on Thursday.
The sixth-seeded former US Open champion from the US turned in a spirited and impressive display to win 76-(5), 6-2 against the second-seeded French Open champion from Spain.
Roddick was fortunate that the conditions were relatively warm and fast, and not unsuitable for his big-hitting style.
But although Roddick hit one delivery at 241kph -- about 8kph slower than his world record -- and finished the contest with two thundering aces, he was sometimes surprisingly effective in the rallies.
The match turned dramatically after Roddick had come back from 0-3 down in the tie-break and sneaked it 7-5 after Nadal uncharacteristically over-hit a forehand service return.
"It was difficult," Roddick said. "All of a sudden I am down in the tie-break and it is discouraging. But I hit one of my best shots at 4-4, I really let it fly and that helped. I am not as skilled as some of the guys and definitely not s fast but one thing I can do is hot a ball pretty good and I simplified it by letting it go tonight."
He was aided by another uncharacteristic error by Nadal at 30-40 in the third game of the second set, when the ground stroke king struck a forehand topspin into the net from a half court position.
Nadal never recovered from that service game loss and Roddick accelerated to a semi-final meeting with another in-form player, Novak Djokovic.
The third-seeded Australian Open champion overwhelmed Igor Andreev, the world No. 34 from Russia, 6-2, 6-1 and has now -- following the demise of both Nadal and Roger Federer -- become the favorite for the title.
Earlier Nikolay Davydenko, the Russian who has to play with the constant uncertainty of an investigation hanging around him, earned himself a great chance of reaching only his second ATP Tour final for 17 months.
The world No. 5 from Moscow overcame Briton Andy Murray 7-5, 6-4, to become another unexpected semi-finalist.
Davydenko mixed consistency with aggression with superb attacks from the baseline against an opponent who had eliminated world No. 1 Roger Federer in the first round.
■ MORE SEEDS TUMBLE
AFP, LAS VEGAS
Top-seeded Fernando Gonzalez and No. 3 Marcos Baghdatis became the latest seeds to tumble out of this ATP hardcourt tournament on Thursday.
Chile's Gonzalez, playing in his first tournament since suffering an abdominal injury that sidelined him for almost a month, fell 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) to Russia's Evgeny Korolev in the second round.
"It was a great match for me," Korolev said. "I was feeling really great. The conditions today, everything was perfect. I found my touch, I found my game."
Gonzalez, who won his most recent event at Vina del Mar last month, couldn't get past Korolev, who recorded the final four points of the tiebreaker after wasting several match points earlier in the second set.
"I was a little bit surprised, a little bit nervous, a little bit [upset]," the 100th-ranked Korolev said of his missed chances. "I was really, really down when it came to 5-5, and I lost the game easy. Then somehow I got back and decided to fight. I was a little bit lucky I won it at the end of the tiebreak."
Gonzalez followed second seed and defending champion Lleyton Hewitt of Australia, fifth-seeded Potito Starace of Italy, sixth-seeded Michael Llodra of France and the eighth-seeded German Nicolas Kiefer out of the tournament.
On Thursday night, third-seeded Cypriot Baghdatis also fell, losing 7-6 (7/2), 6-3 to Robby Ginepri of the US.
■ JANKOVIC SAILS AHEAD
AFP, BANGALORE, INDIA
Top seed Jelena Jankovic of Serbia sailed into the quarter-finals of the WTA Bangalore Open on Thursday, while No. 2 Venus Williams of the US needed three sets to advance.
Jankovic, the world No. 4, eased past unheralded Sanda Mamic of Croatia 6-2, 6-2 in an hour, while Williams survived a mid-match hiccup before defeating China's Peng Shuai, 6-2, 6-7 (6/8), 6-2.
The top two seeds, along with Venus' third-seeded sister Serena, are the favorites to win the US$600,000 tournament, India's richest tennis event.
Serena Williams and fourth seed Patty Schnyder of Switzerland had advanced to the quarter-finals on Wednesday.
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