Djokovic, Ferrer make semis

NEW YORK — Locked in a taut, thrill-a-minute second set, Novak Djokovic and Juan Martin del Potro headed to a tiebreaker and produced a 20-stroke masterpiece of a point befitting a pair of past U.S. Open champions.

More than a dozen shots in, defending champion Djokovic drew del Potro forward with a drop shot, then tossed up a lob. Del Potro, the 2009 champion, sprinted with his back to the court, got to the ball and lofted a lob the other way. Djokovic slammed an overhead. Del Potro somehow kept the ball in play. Djokovic laced a drop shot. Again, del Potro got there, attempting another lob. It landed long.

A point from a two-set lead, Djokovic threw his head back, roared "Come on!" and pumped his arms. Del Potro leaned his elbows atop the net, hunched over and rested his head on his arms.

Close and compelling as their quarterfinal was, it might as well have been over right then and there. Djokovic's down-the-line backhand winner seconds later ended the tiebreaker and gave him a commanding lead on the way to a 6-2, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4 victory over del Potro on Thursday night that put the Serb in his 10th consecutive Grand Slam semifinal.

"We played some incredible rallies and incredible points," the second-seeded Djokovic said. "It's always entertaining, always so much fun, playing in these night sessions."

Djokovic will face fourth-seeded David Ferrer on Saturday, with a spot in Sunday's final at stake. Ferrer advanced to his fourth career major semifinal by using his own version of leg-churning, ball-chasing tennis to outlast eighth-seeded Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) in 4 hours, 31 minutes.

Olympic champion Andy Murray and 2010 Wimbledon runnerup Tomas Berdych — who eliminated 17-time major champion Roger Federer — earned their semifinal berths Wednesday.

Ferrer needed a mid-match pedicure of sorts, seemed bothered when Tipsarevic got a mid-game medical timeout and, worst of all, was down 4-1 in the fifth set.

In the end, though, the indefatigable Spaniard was barely better, as he usually is when matches go the distance. He has won four consecutive five-setters and is 17-9 overall.

"I don't have words," said Ferrer, who reached the semifinals at the French Open in June. "It was a very emotional match."

When it ended on Tipsarevic's backhand into the net, Ferrer raised his arms, then knelt near the baseline. The weary foes met at the net for a hug.

"David is a fighter. He is one of the biggest competitors we have in the game. People . . . overlook him," Djokovic said. "You need to earn your points against him."

Hmmmm.

Sound familiar?

Del Potro might use those exact words to describe Djokovic.

Under the lights at night in Arthur Ashe Stadium, the showcase matchup of Djokovic's squeaky-sneaker defense, reflex returns and line-catching groundstrokes against the seventh-seeded del Potro's big-as-can-be forehands topping 160 kph lasted a little more than three hours.

It was tremendously good every step of the way, and the second set alone was 84 minutes long — 11 minutes more than Djokovic's entire first-round match last week.

"Crucial," Djokovic said about Thursday's second set. "It could have gone either way."

Djokovic and del Potro, a 200-cm Argentine, each was left smacking himself in the head with a racket after an ugly mistake — the shot-making was so high-caliber that any miscue really stood out. The full house responded more than once with standing ovations, but the loudest and longest came before the tiebreaker.

These are the only two men who have managed to beat Federer and Rafael Nadal, owner of 11 major trophies, in the course of a single Grand Slam tournament. Djokovic and del Potro each did it while on the way to the championship at Flushing Meadows.

In the three years since del Potro's triumph, though, he hasn't reached another major final.

He was sidelined for most of the 2010 season — and missed out on a chance to defend his U.S. Open title — because of a right wrist injury that required surgery. He's had problems with his left wrist recently, limiting the effectiveness of his two-fisted backhand.

Still, he beat Djokovic for the bronze medal at the London Olympics last month and gave the guy all he could handle throughout the second set.

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Djokovic wins on red clay in Rome

ROME — Top-ranked Novak Djokovic made a solid return to red-clay courts, dominating Australian teenager Bernard Tomic 6-3, 6-3 Tuesday night to open his Italian Open title defense.

On the women's side, Serena Williams beat 46th-ranked Galina Voskoboeva of Kazakhstan 6-2, 6-3 for her 14th consecutive victory, following titles in Charleston, South Carolina, and Madrid — and two wins in Fed Cup. Also, Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova and defending champion Maria Sharapova won in straight sets at Foro Italico to reach the third round.

Coming off a quarterfinal loss to fellow Serb Janko Tipsarevic on the blue clay at last week's Madrid Open, Djokovic went ahead with two early breaks and faced minimal resistance from the 19-year-old Tomic, the youngest player in the top 50 at No. 32.

"It was a good match for me to start with," said Djokovic. "(Tomic) has a lot of talent and he changes things up well, so you don't know what to expect — that's what makes him dangerous."

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Djokovic blasts surface after losing in Madrid quarters

Surface concerns: Novak Djokovic reaches to return a shot from Serbian compatriot Janko Tipsarevic in their quarterfinal match at the Madrid Open on Friday. Tipsarevic won 7-6 (7-2), 6-3. AP

MADRID — Novak Djokovic joined Rafael Nadal in declaring he won't play again on the new blue clay court at the Madrid Open after losing to Janko Tipsarevic 7-6 (7-2), 6-3 Friday in an all-Serb quarterfinal.

Tipsarevic won for the second time in five matches against Djokovic, who last lost at this stage in November at the Paris Masters.

"I want to forget this week as soon as possible and move on to the real clay courts," the top-ranked Djokovic said. "Here you can't predict the ball bounce or movement. They can do whatever they want, but I won't be here next year if this clay stays."

On the women's side, Serena Williams eased past Maria Sharapova 6-1, 6-3 to advance to the semifinals. Also making the semis was top-ranked Victoria Azarenka, who rallied past French Open winner Li Na 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.

Azarenka agreed with Nadal and Djokovic in their criticism of the court.

"You feel unstable sometimes, actually, a lot of times," she said. "But right now there is no point on talking about it. After the tournament, all the players can get together and discuss it."

Nadal lost to Fernando Verdasco on Thursday. Afterward, the Spaniard said he wouldn't return to the tournament unless it reverts to red clay. Djokovic described the new surface as slippery.

Tipsarevic had to save four break chances to force the first-set tiebreaker that he dominated. The seventh-seeded Tipsarevic broke Djokovic to go ahead in the second set and completed the upset after Djokovic hit two late aces to save three match points.

Tipsarevic next plays Roger Federer, who defeated David Ferrer 6-4, 6-4. The blue clay didn't stop the 16-time Grand Slam champion from deploying his usual array of unreachable shots.

He is unbeaten in 13 matches with the sixth-ranked Spaniard, who didn't help his cause by serving seven double-faults. Federer struck back-to-back aces to clinch the win, improving his record to 24-3 this year.

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Djokovic slams Madrid Open clay

MADRID — Novak Djokovic needed three sets to win his first match on the blue clay at the Madrid Open on Tuesday, and then stepped up his criticism of the new surface.

Djokovic labored to a 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 victory over Daniel Gimeno-Traver of Spain in his debut on the Magic Box's unorthodox surface, after top-ranked Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova both beat Czech opponents to advance in the women's event.

Djokovic, who had already voiced his opposition to the blue clay, was left fuming over the condition of center court, which he said was completely different to the practice courts he trained on before the event.

"To me that's not tennis. Either I come out with football shoes or I invite Chuck Norris to advise me how to play on this court," said Djokovic, who like Rafael Nadal has been critical of the new-look surface. "Center court is impossible to move on. I hit five balls throughout the whole match. With everything else, I was just trying to keep the ball in the court."

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Djokovic thrashes Mahut; Nishikori reaches round of 16

MELBOURNE, Australia — Novak Djokovic gave Nicolas Mahut one lousy birthday present.

The top-seeded Djokovic routed the Frenchman 6-0, 6-1, 6-1 on Saturday to advance to the fourth round of the Australian Open. He needed only 1 hour, 14 minutes to dismiss the newly 30-years-old Mahut, who lost the longest match in Grand Slam history over 11 hours, 5 minutes against John Isner at Wimbledon in 2010.

"I wish him happy birthday and hopefully tonight he can enjoy it," Djokovic said.

The defending champion is aiming to become the fifth man in the Open era to win three consecutive major titles. He will play the winner of a later match between Milos Raonic and Lleyton Hewitt in the fourth round.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, whom Djokovic beat at Melbourne Park for his first Grand Slam title in 2008, also hardly broke sweat in beating Frederico Gil of Portugal 6-2, 6-2, 6-2.

Kei Nishikori, meanwhile, advanced to the round of 16 of the Australian Open for the first time in his career with a four-set victory over Frenchman Julien Benneteau.

Nishikori dropped the first set 6-4 but took the next three 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 in a third-round match that lasted nearly 3 hours, 30 minutes.

The 22-year-old will next play sixth-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, whom he defeated in a warmup event in Melbourne last week.

"I'm so happy to win," said Nishikori. "I'm glad I was able to win a close match, especially after my opponent had taken control of the match early."

Nishikori became the first Japanese man to win three matches in the main draw of the Australian Open since Jiro Sato in 1932. He has reached the last 16 in a Grand Slam tournament for the second time and first since the 2008 U.S. Open.

"My opponent was very aggressive, but I tried to find a way to turn the tables," Nishikori said. "I just had to focus on one point at a time."

On the women's side, two Wimbledon winners — Petra Kvitova and Maria Sharapova — advanced, but two top 10 players went out.

Seventh-seeded Vera Zvonareva was beaten 7-6 (9-7), 6-1 by fellow Russian Ekaterina Makerova. No. 9 Marion Bartoli lost 6-3, 6-3 to Zheng Jie of China, a former Australian Open semifinalist.

Sharapova was tested for the first time and still came out with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Germany's Angelique Kerber.

The 2008 champion won her first two matches 6-0, 6-1 and has lost five games in reaching the fourth round, but though the scoreline on Saturday made it look easy enough, Sharapova was given a full workout in a 56-minute second set, with many games going to deuce.

After clinching the victory with a forehand winner, Sharapova showed her relief by clenching her fist and screeching "come on!"

"She certainly stepped up in the second set," Sharapova said. "She reached the semifinals at the U.S. Open last year so she's been on the big stage before and I knew she could produce some really good tennis."

She next plays No. 14 Sabine Lisicki, who beat two-time major winner Svetlana Kuznetsova 2-6, 6-4, 6-2.

Sharapova and Kvitova both have a chance of claiming the No. 1 ranking at the end of the tournament. They could play each other in the semifinals, although Kvitova insisted she hasn't looked that far ahead.

"I don't know who lost and who win," the Wimbledon champion said. "No, really, for me doesn't care."

Kvitova reached the round of 16 when Maria Kirilenko retired with a left thigh injury while trailing 6-0, 1-0 after 38 minutes of their third-round match.

Kvitova next faces Ana Ivanovic, who beat unseeded American Vania King 6-3, 6-4 to reach the fourth round for the first time since she reached the final here in 2008.

That was the same year the 24-year-old Serb won the French Open for her only Grand Slam title, and also claimed the top ranking.

Also Saturday, Serena Williams was so dominant in her 6-1, 6-1 third-round win over Greta Arn that there's probably only one shot she'll remember more than most.

At 5-0 and a point from the first set, Williams lined up in the ideal position for overhead but then completely shanked it, spraying the ball wide. She screamed and put a hand over her face.

Arn saved another set point before holding serve for the first time. Williams responded by winning the next five games before Arn held again. The match ended in 59 minutes, on consecutive double-faults by Arn.

In the women's doubles second round, Ayumi Morita and Rika Fujiwara outlasted Iveta Benesova and Barbora Zahlavova Strycova of the Czech Republic 6-4, 3-6, 7-5, coming back from 5-2 down in the final set.

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Djokovic overcomes Nadal in Madrid final

MADRID — Novak Djokovic kept up his perfect start to the season against Rafael Nadal on Sunday.

Djokovic defeated Nadal on clay for the first time in 10 tries, beating the top-ranked Spaniard 7-5, 6-4 in the final of the Madrid Open and extending his unbeaten start to the season to 32 matches.

The second-ranked Djokovic squandered a 4-0 lead in the first set, but recovered to end Nadal's latest winning streak on clay at 37 matches, earning the Serb his third straight victory over Nadal in finals this season.

Djokovic's sixth title of 2011 allowed him to surpass Bjorn Borg's 31-match season-opening run in 1980. He trails only John McEnroe's 42-0 start in 1984.

"Probably it's right at the top," Djokovic said about beating Nadal on clay on Spanish soil. "Under the circumstances I was playing an unbelievable match. . . . I stepped onto the court today believing I could win. I needed to be aggressive and it was a great match."

Djokovic's run of 34 straight wins since Serbia's Davis Cup triumph in December is the eighth best of all time.

"I came up against a great player obviously — he's having a monster year," Nadal said. "He was better, you have to accept that."

He also lost to Djokovic in the finals at Miami and Indian Wells this year.

Earlier, Petra Kvitova won her third title of the season by beating Victoria Azarenka 7-6 (7-3), 6-4 in the women's final.

Nadal's last defeat on clay came nearly two years ago against Robin Soderling at the French Open. He had won six titles on clay since, and this was only his seventh loss on the surface in 196 matches dating to 2005.

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