Spain's Rafael Nadal plays a shot to Serbia's Novak Djokovic during their quarter-final at the French Open yesterday. Nadal won when the Serb retired down 6-4, 6-4. - REUTERS
PARIS (AP):
RAFAEL NADAL moved on at the French Open when Novak Djokovic decided to stop.
Defending champion Nadal advanced to the semi-finals and extended his record clay-court winning streak yesterday by beating Djokovic, who retired with a back injury three points into the third set trailing 6-4, 6-4.
"It's not nice to win like that," Nadal said. "I'm sorry for him. But this is good for me to head to the semi-finals."
Seeded second, the Spaniard won his 58th consecutive clay-court match and improved to 12-0 at Roland Garros.
POTENTIAL SUNDAY SHOWDOWN
A potential Sunday showdown looms against top-ranked Roger Federer, but first Nadal must beat Ivan Ljubicic. Seeded fourth, Ljubicic earned his first berth in a Grand Slam semi-final by beating unseeded Julien Benneteau 6-2, 6-2, 6-3.
Federer plays No. 3 David Nalbandian in the other match tomorrow, making it the first time the four top-seeded men have reached the Roland Garros semi-finals since 1985.
The unseeded Djokovic, playing in his first Grand Slam quarter-final, hurt his back and sought treatment from a trainer after falling behind 3-0 in the second set. In the next game, he took a spill behind the baseline and rose hobbling.
Djokovic won four more games, but sometimes clutched his back and winced following shots. After hitting a backhand long in the first game of the third set, he walked to the net and conceded, frustrated by the missed opportunity against Nadal.
REALLY UNHAPPY
"I'm really unhappy that I finished this way," the 19-year-old Djokovic said. "For sure he's the best on this surface, but he's not unbeatable. I realised that. He was not feeling too comfortable in control of the match."
Nadal disagreed.
"I lost my concentration a little bit in the second set with his problems," Nadal said. "I didn't really understand what was going on. But before that, I was playing good, with confidence and improving in my game."
The brevity of the one-hour, 54-minute victory meant a welcome respite for Nadal, who had played eight hours, 10 minutes in his previous two matches.
"It was relatively short, and I'm pleased," he said. "I'm sure that for Friday I'll be in good shape."
The centre-court stands were barely half-full for the start of play on a sunny, mild day, and late arrivals missed Djokovic's best moment. It came in the second game, when he hit a forehand winner to end a 24-shot rally and break for one-all.
Nadal promptly broke back and was in control from there with his patented mix of power and finesse.
When the Spaniard ripped a forehand passing shot up the line for a winner from eight feet behind the baseline, Djokovic joined in the applause. When Nadal hit two deft drop shots to break in the opening game of the second set, a frustrated Djokovic spiked the ball into the stands.
LITTLE MERCY
Even with Djokovic hurting, Nadal showed little mercy. When Nadal stroked a shot erroneously called out, Djokovic checked the mark and graciously signalled the ball good, prompting a replay of the point. Nadal then hit an ace.
Nadal said he was surprised when Djokovic retired.
"I just couldn't hold on anymore," Djokovic said. "It wouldn't bring me good, that's for sure, if I would continue playing with the pain in the back."
For Djokovic, the French Open ended with a retirement for the second successive year. He quit in the second round last year with breathing problems and cramping.
Frenchman Benneteau gave a partisan crowd little to cheer about, starting badly against Ljubicic by losing his first five service games. Ljubicic hit 13 aces and in the final set won 20 of 23 points on his serve.
When he closed out the victory with a booming forehand, the impassive Croat broke into a grin. It's his first semi-final berth in 27 major events.
