Wed Apr 2 17:30:37 2008

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Nadal overcomes Blake to reach Miami semis

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Miami, FL (Sports Network) - World No. 2 Rafael Nadal came from behind to beat ninth-seeded James Blake in quarterfinal action Wednesday at the $3.77 million Sony Ericsson Open -- the second of nine ATP Masters Series events this year.

The reigning French Open champion and Wimbledon runner-up Nadal dropped the first set against Blake before charging back for a 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 decision at Crandon Park. Nadal was a finalist here in 2005.

Nadal prevailed in 1 hour, 55 minutes with the help of four service breaks, compared to only one for Blake, who struck 11 more winners on Day 8 but also uncorked 18 more (31-13) unforced errors.

The gritty Nadal is now 2-3 lifetime versus Blake, with both wins coming in succession this season. The Spaniard also topped the American in three sets in a quarterfinal at Indian Wells just two weeks ago.

Nadal's semifinal opponent here on Friday will be 10th-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych or 31st-seeded Russian Igor Andreev. Berdych and Andreev will square off here on Wednesday night.

The other quarterfinals will be staged here on Thursday, when top-seeded Roger Federer faces sixth-seeded Andy Roddick and fourth-seeded Russian Nikolay Davydenko takes on improving Serbian Janko Tipsarevic. Federer is a laughable 15-1 lifetime against Roddick, including 11 straight wins in the series dating back to 2003.

The reigning five-time Wimbledon and four-time U.S. Open champion Federer titled here back-to-back in 2005 and 2006, while the former top-ranked Roddick was the big winner in Miami in 2004.

The 2008 champion will claim $590,000.