Nadal and Djokovic toil to reach last four

Defending champion Rafael Nadal held his nerve to reach the last four at the Pacific Life Open by beating American James Blake for the first time 7-5 3-6 6-3 in the quarter-finals on Thursday.

The second-seeded Spaniard broke in the eighth game of the third set, when Blake over-hit a forehand, before serving out to seal victory in a contest lasting just over two hours.

Nadal, who clinched the final point with an ace, dropped to his knees in jubilation.

“The thing is not beating James, the thing is being in the semi-final and beating two big players like (Jo-Wilfried) Tsonga and Blake,” Nadal told reporters. “For me, those were two very important matches.”

The Spaniard defeated 17th-seeded Frenchman Tsonga, the runner-up at the Australian Open in January, over three sets in the previous round.

“At this moment I feel like I’m playing good tennis,” Nadal added. “I feel very good on the ball with my forehand so I think, if I am to win this match, I have to win with my forehand.”

The Spaniard fought back from 4-1 down to win a first set littered with unforced errors. He clawed his way back to 5-5, took the 11th game with a probing forehand that clipped the line and came from 0-40 down to serve out for the set.

Although ninth-seeded Blake leveled the match after breaking the left-hander in the second game of the second set, his opponent regained control in the third.

“He’s two in the world for a reason and he did make his presence felt out there,” the rueful American said. “I didn’t do enough to hurt him on the big points.”

World number two Nadal, who beat Blake for the first time in four career meetings, next meets Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic after he beat Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka 7-6 6-2 earlier in the day.

Third-seeded Djokovic, who lost to Nadal in last year’s final, survived an erratic first set before raising his game to wrap up victory in two hours, five minutes on the Stadium Court.

“I didn’t play so well in the first set,” Djokovic, 20, said. “I made a lot of unforced errors. He knows that I’m going to try to be aggressive so he was waiting for his chance. He was playing very wisely.

“You can’t always play on your top level and it’s normal to have some difficult stages in a tournament,” added the Serb who has not dropped a set this week. “I’m happy to win such a difficult match.”

Djokovic squandered a 5-3 lead in the opening set to trail 5-6 before forcing a tiebreak which he clinched 7-5.

The relieved Serb sank to his knees after winning the set with a forehand volley and beat his chest several times in celebration.

“As you could see by the reaction, it was probably the most important point of the game,” Djokovic said. “I’m a very emotional player on the court and I like to express my feelings.” 

The world number three tightened his grip in the second set, breaking the Swiss in the first and fourth games before serving out for victory.