Nadal and Djokovic close in on Wimbledon semi-final duel
Friday July 6, 3:21 AM
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Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic closed in on a mouthwatering Wimbledon semi-final clash with thrilling, marathon fourth round triumphs on Thursday. With both men playing catch-up in these rain-ravaged championships, Spanish second seed Nadal, bidding to become only the third man to win the French Open and Wimbledon titles in the same year, came back from two sets down to defeat gallant Russian Mikhail Youzhny. Djokovic, the Serbian fourth seed, needed over four hours to see off 2002 champion Lleyton Hewitt in four sets despite needing extensive treatment on a back injury.
Nadal will face Czech seventh seed Tomas Berdych in Friday's quarter-final while Djokovic, playing in his first Wimbledon last eight match, meets 10th seeded Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis, a semi-finalist in 2006. Nadal, who needed five sets as well as four days to defeat Robin Soderling in the third round, said he was unconcerned about the prospect of having to play seven days in a row if he is to win the title on Sunday. "If I am not motivated at Wimbledon where am I going to be motivated?," said Nadal after his 4-6, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 win over Youzhny. "Even if it rained for a month I would still be 100 percent motivated at Wimbledon." The Spaniard's win was also the second Wimbledon in succession that he had had to come back from a two-set deficit after staring defeat in the face against America's Robert Kendrick in the second round last year. Friday's clash will be another instalment in a love-hate relationship between Nadal and Berdych. They were involved in an ugly exchange when the Czech knocked the Spaniard out of the Madrid Masters last year. Berdych infuriated the partisan crowd by pressing his finger to his lips when he won crucial points and he left the court with jeers ringing in his ears. Nadal described Berdych as 'stupid'. But the Czech says relations between the two are now more cordial. "I don't see any problem," said the 21-year-old. "In Madrid it was just emotions after the match. "We met in the locker room and he congratulated me for winning in Halle and I said well done to him for winning today." The 25-year-old Youzhny had defeated Nadal in the quarter-finals of the US Open last year and he was virtually untroubled in the first two sets on Thursday. But he twice needed treatment for a back injury and, with his movement severely restricted, Nadal pounced to storm to victory out on Court Two. The 20-year-old Djokovic clinched a 7-6 (10/8), 7-6 (7/2), 4-6, 7-6 (7/5) win over the 16th seeded Hewitt after a memorable feast of marathon rallies. "I expected a very difficult match against Lleyton and I knew I had to be at 100 percent," said Djokovic who will be playing in his first quarter-final at the All England Club. "This win means a lot to me. Now I will face Baghdatis, he is a great guy and a fantastic player. He showed he is a quality player by reaching the semi-finals here last year." The first set took an hour to complete with one point in the tiebreak lasting a gruelling 40 strokes. Hewitt had two set points in the breaker but Djokovic saved them both. The fourth seed then wrapped up the opener on his third set point when Hewitt hit long and also dominated the second set tiebreaker. Djokovic called an injury time-out for treatment on a back injury after he dropped the third set and was staring at a final set decider when Hewitt served at 5-4 in the fourth. But he hit back and took the tie on his third match point in another tiebreaker. A disappointed Hewitt said he believed Baghdatis would beat the Serbian in Friday's quarter-finals. "When I played Baghdatis in the quarter-finals last year I was impressed with the way he played," said the Australian. "I think today will have taken a lot out of Djokovic. I fancy Baghdatis's chances." Baghdatis reached his second successive Wimbledon quarter-final with a 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/5), 6-3 win over Russian sixth seed Nikolay Davydenko. Berdych saw off Swedish veteran Jonas Bjorkman 6-4, 6-0, 6-7 (6/8), 6-0.
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