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Nadal, Djokovic Advance At French Open

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The Associated Press

Published: June 4, 2008

PARIS - Five rounds into the French Open, king of clay Rafael Nadal still awaits a serious challenge.

Novak Djokovic hopes to provide it in the semifinals.

Three-time defending champion Nadal matched the most lopsided Grand Slam victory of his career Tuesday, defeating fellow Spaniard Nicolas Almagro 6-1, 6-1, 6-1. The drubbing equaled the standard Nadal set in his previous victory, when he lost three games against another Spaniard, Fernando Verdasco.

Nadal was giving the center-court crowd a thumbs-up signal following his triumph shortly after Djokovic completed a much more arduous win. He needed more than three hours to eliminate childhood friend Ernests Gulbis 7-5, 7-6 (3), 7-5.

The No. 3-seeded Djokovic will face No. 2 Nadal on Friday.

"Of course he's a favorite," Djokovic said. "But I don't want to go out there in the semis and just try my best. I want to win."

For the winner, No. 1 Roger Federer looms as a potential final opponent.

Nadal is 26-0 at Roland Garros, but Djokovic is making his mark in the record book, too. The Australian Open champion 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."

With less fanfare, No. 2-seeded Ana Ivanovic and No. 3 Jelena Jankovic advanced and will meet in the women's semifinals Thursday. Ivanovic beat Patty Schnyder 6-3, 6-2, and Jankovic defeated unseeded Carla Suarez Navarro 6-3, 6-2.

Nadal celebrated his 22nd birthday with nearly flawless tennis, committing only nine unforced errors. He denied his matches are as stress-free as he makes them 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."

Nadal lost the first game, then won nine in a row - his longest such streak since his previous match, when he swept 10 in a row. The No. 19-seeded Almagro is no slouch on clay either, with a tour-high 29 victories on the surface this season.

It was only the third time a man has lost fewer than four games in a Grand Slam quarterfinal in the Open era. It was a record for that era at the French Open.

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

Svetlana Kuznetsova advanced to the quarterfinals by completing a victory over Victoria Azarenka, 6-2, 6-3. Kuznetsova's opponent today will be Kaia Kanepi, who became the first Estonian to reach the quarterfinals at a major tournament.

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