Nadal restores order with win at Indian Wells

INDIAN WELLS, California, March 18, 2010 (AP) - Rafael Nadal restored order on a day of upsets with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 fourth-round victory over big-serving American John Isner at the BNP Paribas Open on Wednesday, after Novak Djokovic and Elena Dementieva were ousted.

Seeking his third title at Indian Wells, No. 3-seed Nadal withstood Isner’s serve—and—volley game under the searing afternoon sun in front of a partisan crowd backing one of only two American men remaining.

Nadal ended things with a forehand winner into the open court, prompting a loud yell from the defending champion who is back in action after a six—week injury layoff.

“I am feeling really well, and I am feeling good on court,” said Nadal, playing his first tournament since the Australian Open, when he was hampered by knee injuries that also bothered him last summer.

Nadal rested after his singles match, then went out and won his doubles quarterfinal with countyman Marc Lopez.

“I can return more aggressive than the singles and I practice a little bit more the serve,” he said. “I play more relaxed. I feel my volley improves in the last three days, so that’s the important thing.”

Isner fired 22 aces and had just one double—fault in his first match against Nadal.

Nadal advanced to the quarterfinals against 19th—seeded Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic, a 6—1, 6—1 winner over No. 29 Viktor Troicki of Serbia.

No. 7 Andy Roddick met 22nd—seeded Jurgen Melzer of Austria in a night match, followed by No. 14 Andy Murray of Britain against Nicolas Almagro of Spain. No. 2 Caroline Wozniacki was to play 18th—seeded Zheng Jie of China.

No. 2 Djokovic, the highest seeded men’s player remaining and the 2008 winner, lost 7—5, 6—3 to No. 20 seed Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia, a day after top—ranked Roger Federer dropped a third—set tiebreaker to Marcos Baghdatis after holding three match points.

Sixth—seeded Robin Soderling defeated No. 9 Jo—Wilfried Tsonga, 6—3, 6—4, and No. 18 Tommy Robredo outlasted the 27th—seeded Baghdatis 7—5, 0—6, 6—4.

No. 4 Dementieva struggled with her footwork in a 6—4, 6—3 quarterfinal defeat to fifth—seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland, who has yet to drop a set in four matches.

“If it’s an important moment, I think I’m just little bit better,” Radwanska said. “That’s why I’m winning in two sets.”

Former winner Dementieva’s loss cleared the way for a first—time women’s champion to be crowned Sunday.

Ljubicic hadn’t beaten Djokovic since their first meeting in 2006, losing five in a row. But he believed the Serb was vulnerable because of his recent playing and travel schedule.

“He has to aim to be 100 percent fit if he wants to win this tournament, and he wasn’t. If I didn’t get him, somebody would on the way,” Ljubicic said. “He was already struggling in Dubai. He played long matches there, and after that he went to Serbia, played Davis Cup, and then traveled here.”

Playing on the smaller Stadium Court 2, Djokovic held for 5—all in the first set. But Ljubicic won the next two games, breaking Djokovic to take the set 7—5. Ljubicic smashed 13 aces and had no double faults in the nearly 2—hour contest.

“I was actually very surprised that we were scheduled on Stadium 2 because he’s No. 2 in the world,” said Ljubicic, who practiced on the main stadium court Tuesday in anticipation of playing there. “I was happy when I found out we were going to play on Stadium 2, because I played a lot of matches on that court and I’m sure he didn’t. It was maybe a little advantage on my side.”

Djokovic’s serve continued to let him down in the second set. He was broken to trail 4—3 before Ljubicic won two of the next three games to close out the win. Djokovic saved just one of seven break points against him in the match.

“This is a tournament where I definitely didn’t feel comfortable on the court. I had a very tiring couple of weeks coming from Davis Cup, which was emotionally very exhausting for me,” Djokovic said. “I had to travel the next day and came here. I know I could have played better.”

Ljubicic moves on to a quarterfinal against No. 21 Juan Monaco of Argentina, who got by Guillermo Garcia—Lopez of Spain 3—6, 6—2, 6—1.