Upset Novak :-(

Novak Djokovic often bounces the ball more than a dozen times before serving, and the tedious ritual may have cost him a match Friday.

The defending champion at the Sony Ericsson Open went into a funk after being warned for taking too much time between points, then blew a third-set lead to lose his opening match.

Qualifier Kevin Anderson, a 6-foot-7 former NCAA doubles champion at Illinois, beat the third-ranked Djokovic 7-6 (1), 3-6, 6-4.

Djokovic won his first Grand Slam title at this year’s Australian Open and was coming off a title at Indian Wells last week. But he struggled from the start against Anderson and was rattled by the warning from the chair umpire.

Serving at 2-0 in the third set, Djokovic won the next point after the warning to reach deuce, then lost 13 points in a row. Jeers from the crowd further agitated him, and by the time Djokovic collected himself, Anderson was up a break at 3-2.

“I didn’t focus myself in that moment,” Djokovic said. “But, you know, that’s OK. It’s all part of the game.”

Pacific Life Open 2008 (Indian Wells)

As of March 20, 200８

ＡＴＰ　Tour -　Association of Tennis Professionals

1. Roger Federer
2. Rafael Nadal
3. Novak Djokovic
4. Nikolay Davydenko
5. David Ferrer
6. Andy Roddick
7. David Nalbandian
8. Richard Gasquet
9. James Blake
10. Tomas Berdych
    

Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic survived an erratic first set to beat Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka 7-6 6-2 in the Pacific Life Open quarter-finals on Thursday.

Third-seeded Djokovic, defeated in last year’s final by Spaniard Rafael Nadal, raised his game in the second set to wrap up victory in just over two hours on the Stadium Court.

The Serb, who has now beaten Wawrinka three times in five career meetings on the ATP Tour, will next meet either second seed Nadal or American James Blake in the last four.

＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊

Defending champion Rafael Nadal beat James Blake on Thursday night for the first time in their four meetings to move into the Pacific Life Open semifinals.

Nadal finished off a 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 victory over his American opponent with a 128-mph ace, then sank to his knees and thrust his arms skyward.

He had finally taken the upper hand in the tight match when he broke Blake’s service for a 5-3 lead in the third set.


WTA　Tour －Women's Tennis Association

1. Justine Henin
2. Ana Ivanovic
3. Svetlana Kuznetsova
4. Jelena Jankovic
5. Maria Sharapova
6. Anna Chakvetadze
7. Venus Williams
8. Daniela Hantuchova
9. Serena Williams
10. Marion Bartoli

Third seed Jelena Jankovic reached the last four at the Pacific Life Open when American Lindsay Davenport retired from their quarter-final because of a back injury on Thursday.

The 31-year-old Davenport, twice former champion at Indian Wells, summoned her trainer when trailing Serb Jankovic 4-1 before deciding to withdraw after losing the first set 6-2.

＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊

Ivanovic booked her place in the last four by brushing aside Russia’s Vera Zvonareva 6-1 6-4 earlier in the day.

The 20-year-old Ivanovic, bidding for her first WTA title of the year, outplayed her opponent in a baseline battle to seal victory in just over an hour.