Indian Wells, March 18: World number one Rafael Nadal withstood a barrage of power serving by Croat Ivo Karlovic to reach the semifinals of the Indian Wells ATP tournament with a thrilling 5-7, 6-1, 7-6 victory on Thursday.
The Spanish left-hander, champion in 2007 and 2009, ended a tightly balanced match on the showpiece stadium court by winning the third set tiebreak 9-7 when a Karlovic forehand floated long.
Nadal had earned his third match point of the night with a sublime inside-out forehand crosscourt winner and the crowd erupted with deafening roars when he converted it moments later to seal victory in two hours 23 minutes.
He collapsed to the ground in delight and will next meet Argentine Juan Martin del Potro, who was gifted a place in the last four when Spaniard Tommy Robredo pulled out of their match earlier in the day with a strained left abductor muscle.
“That was very tight,” a beaming Nadal said courtside after beating the six-foot 10-inch (2.08 metre) Karlovic for a fourth time in four career meetings.
“For sure, it was an unbelievably difficult match. I love this court and the fans here are unbelievable.”
Karlovic, who became the fastest server of all time with a 251 kph (156 mph) blast during his country’s Davis Cup tie against Germany in Zagreb this month, ended the match with a total of 23 aces.
The first set went with serve until top seed Nadal was broken in the 11th game when he ran back after a protracted rally and, on the stretch, hit a forehand lob long.
Karlovic then held serve to clinch the opening set but he was broken in the second and fourth games of the second as the Spaniard began to dominate from the baseline with searing groundstrokes.
Nadal levelled the match by holding serve to take the second set 6-1 when a Karlovic forehand service return floated long but the third set went into a tiebreak with neither able to break.
The Spaniard raced into a 5-2 lead after pulling off an incredible volleyed drop shot on the stretch but the Croat, helped by a 210 kph (131 mph) ace, fought back to 5-5 before saving match points at 5-6 and 6-7.
Former US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina earned his place in the last four when former world number five Robredo withdrew before their scheduled quarterfinal.
The Spaniard had been troubled by his injury for a month and he aggravated it in the second set of his 6-1, 6-3 fourth-round victory over American Sam Querrey on Wednesday.
“I knew I was not going to be able to play, so that’s why I pulled out,” the 25th seed said. “We did an MRI last night, and we saw the results.
“The doctor here says not to play. We have been delaying it as much as possible because we were contacting our doctors in Spain to see what they feel about. Now the decision is done.”
Del Potro, while expressing regret for the Spaniard’s plight, looked forward to meeting Nadal in the last four.
“Of course I’m sorry for Robredo and I wish him a fast recovery,” said the 22-year-old Argentine, who won his eighth ATP title at last month’s Delray Beach International Championships.
“But I am glad to be in the semifinals. Maybe I could play with Nadal again. We make very good matches before, so I have two days to be better, in good form, and hopefully I can play 100 percent.”
-Agencies