Top-ranked Roger Federer dropped a set for the second time in
three matches but prevailed over Serbian teenager Novak Djokovic
6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-3 on Thursday to reach the semifinals at the Dubai
Open.
Federer, who on Monday broke Jimmy Connors' record with his
161st consecutive week atop the ATP rankings, committed 52 unforced
errors and needed more than two hours to subdue Djokovic on the
Aviation Club courts.
Also Thursday, Russia's Mikhail Youzhny upset No. 2 seed Rafael
Nadal 7-6 (5), 6-3, capitalizing on an apparent incorrect call by
the Hawk-Eye electronic line-judging system to overwhelm the
rattled Spaniard.
He advanced to the semifinals along with Germany's Tommy Haas
and Robin Soderling of Sweden.
Fifth-seeded Haas, winner last week in Memphis, extended his
winning streak to 11 matches as he overwhelmed Belgium's Olivier
Rochus 6-0, 6-2, while Soderling held off 2002 champion Fabrice
Santoro to win 6-1, 6-7 (2), 6-0.
Federer, who also dropped as set to Denmark's Kristian Pless in
his first-round match on Monday, next faces Haas, having beaten the
ninth-ranked German in seven of their nine meetings.
"I definitely think my forehand is not working like the way it
usually works," Federer said. "Some half-court balls, I usually put
them away in my sleep. But I can't quite do that here for some
reason, so that's a bit of a worry.
"But as the opponents get tougher, my game also rises to the
occasion. That's what I expect again against Haas. I have played
him a few times in my career. The guy, when he is playing well, he
can play really, really well. He has definitely been on a roll
lately and I am really happy to see him back playing after his two
years of injuries."
Federer appeared to have won in straight sets, but Djokovic won
a line challenge on match-point and prevailed.
"Maybe I should have closed it out earlier and not be in that
position," Federer said. "I can see the headlines already, kind of
going like 'Oh God, he missed match point with the Hawk-Eye,' and
the whole thing. This wasn't exactly our best match, but I think it
was more of a battle on the day, kind of who manages to play
better. It was me in the end, so I am happy about that."
Nadal never seemed to recover after Youzhny won a challenge to
reverse an out call and take the first-set tiebreak.
The Russian then broke Nadal to open the second.
"I lost the first set in the last point," Nadal said. "I saw and
even the referee saw, the ball was outside. There was a mark on the
court. The ball was definitely out, but when he challenged, it was
in. So it was really unbelievable."
Even Youzhny admitted he was shocked that his challenge was
upheld by Hawk-Eye.
"(It) looked like it was a little bit out. I saw the mark was a
little out, but it was such an important point, I decided to call
for the Hawk-Eye. Even I was shocked it was called in, because, to
be honest, I thought it was out."
Haas lost only two points on his serve in the first set and
needed just 49 minutes to eliminate Rochus, who upset third-seed
Nikolay Davydenko in the second round.
"It was one of those days when from the beginning I felt quite
well and moved well from the baseline. I never really gave him the
opportunity to play his game," Haas said.
Santoro lost the first set and trailed 1-3, when he suddenly
started hitting some exquisite shots to level the match by winning
the tiebreak.
But the young Soderling proved too much for the 32-year-old
Frenchman in the third.
"He plays like no other on the tour. No point is the same. He's
coming to the net, he's hitting dropshots, he's hitting slice,
everything," Soderling said. "You get no rhythm at all. He's a
tough guy to play."
(China Daily via Reuters March 2, 2007)