Tennis: Nadal and Ljubicic flex their muscles

PARIS - An impertinent teenager and an over-awed Frenchman proved no match for the seasoned muscle of Rafael Nadal and Ivan Ljubicic in the French Open tennis championships this morning (NZ time).

Defending champion Nadal coasted through to the last four when 19-year-old Serbian Novak Djokovic retired with a bad back having lost the first two sets of their quarter-final 6-4 6-4.

Spain's Nadal will next face fourth seed Ljubicic after the Croatian hardman pummelled unseeded Julien Benneteau of France 6-2 6-2 6-3 to reach his first grand slam semi-final.

In Friday's other semifinal, world number one Roger Federer plays Argentine third seed David Nalbandian.

It is the first time since 1985 that the top four seeds have reached the semi-finals at Roland Garros.

Djokovic cheekily suggested he had been in control of his match against Nadal until his back problem surfaced in the second set.

"Oh, yes? So he had the problem in the first game or what?" said Nadal, who has now remained unbeaten on a claycourt for 58 consecutive matches.

"I'm playing better and better. Maybe I am arriving in the semi-finals with my best level in the last two weeks. That's the most important thing," the 20-year-old added.

Djokovic had never been beyond the third round of a grand slam before and ousted three seeds on his way to the last eight, but he lost his opening two service games against Nadal and never recovered.

The Spanish lefthander took the set with a diagonal forehand and was quickly 4-1 up in the second after Djokovic needed a medical timeout to treat his back and his left thigh.

It distracted Nadal briefly and the Serbian broke back for 2-4 but an errant backhand cost him the set. Faced with overturning a two-set deficit against a seemingly invincible opponent, Djokovic called it quits soon afterwards.

In the second quarter-final Benneteau endured a nightmare in front of his centre court fans.

Neither he nor the Croatian had been as far in a grand slam event before. Whereas Ljubicic has won five tournaments and is a national hero after inspiring his country to their Davis Cup triumph last season, Benneteau had never even reached a tour level final.

After a tortuous opening to the match in which neither player could hold serve Benneteau twice lost his with double-faults.

Ljubicic happily took advantage and Benneteau, the world number 95, lost the second set with a horrible mishit.

The end was not long coming and Ljubicic controlled the third set, greeting what ultimately proved to be a painless, two-hour 14-minute win with a huge smile.

Ljubicic has not faced a single seeded player en route to the last four and he said: "It's a fantastic feeling but it would be a disappointment not to make the semis given the players that I played against.

"Finally I find myself in the position in which I belong as the fourth seed. Now I can concentrate on my game so it was a (smile of) relief more than anything else."

The 27-year-old's semi-final with Nadal will be their first meeting since the Spaniard took a fifth set tiebreak to win the Madrid Masters last year.

- REUTERS