Rafa Nadal Sets Up Ivan Ljubicic Clash
19 March 2010
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Rafael Nadal has powered into the semi finals of BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells with a straight sets win over Tomas Berdych.
The defending champion has been in fine form since returning form a knee injury at the weekend.
The Spaniard wrapped up the opening set in just an hour as he broke Berdych twice to take it 6-4.
He was made to battle a little harder in the second as he came back from an early break as Berdych opened up a 1-3 lead.
The pair traded breaks in the seventh and eighth games of the set, Nadal saved all but two break point he faced on his serve.
And it was Nadal who prevailed in the second set as he clinched the match in two hours and eleven minutes win a 6-4 7-6 win.
Nadal hasn't won a title since the Rome Masters of last year, after being plagued by a knee injury last summer, but he is the only former champion left in this year's draw.
Speaking to Sky Sports after the match he said: "It was a very good match. I played really well, especially the first set. The first eight, nine games of the match was (played at an) unbelievable level.
"Later the wind came a little bit and it was more difficult to play. But anyway, we were still playing, keep playing at high level, and this is very important.
"[It is] very good news for me to be in semi-finals."
He will now face the big hitting Ivan Ljubicic, who put out second seed Novak Djokovic earlier this week, as he came through in three sets against Juan Monaco.
It was a fine performance from the Croat, who turns thirty one this weekend, as he faced just one break in his quarter final match.
Monaco made a good fight of it in the opening set and despite only winning eight points on the Ljubicic serve in the first set it was enough to earn the break and take the opener 4-6.
But Ljubicic put his foot on the gas in the second as his serve dominated the game the match was soon level at a set a piece.
He continued to dominate in the third and his Argentinean opponent had no answer to his outstanding service display.
In under two hours Ljubicic wrapped up the match 4-6 6-2 6-1 to be the first man into the semi final.
The second semi final will be played tonight as Andy Murray takes on Robin Soderling while Andy Roddick plays Tommy Robredo.
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