Nadal upset in Doha

Jan 8, 2009 - 10:18 PM DOHA, Qatar (Ticker) -- Rafael Nadal's hopes of lifting the Qatar Open title are over after the world No. 1 was surprisingly beaten, 6-4, 6-4, by France's Gael Monfils in the quarterfinals on Thursday.

Top seed Nadal had defeated Monfils easily in their three previous meetings but the exciting 22-year-old, who has risen to 13th in the world on the back of an impressive 2008, turned the tables with an excellent performance.

Monfils is one of the few players who can compete with Nadal's athleticism but it was his serve that proved the difference today, the fifth seed winning 83 percent of points on his first delivery.

"He played better than me," Nadal said. "I didn't play my best, but I had my chances. Gael served very well, and played aggressive, not making a lot of mistakes.

"I made more mistakes than him, that was the difference. Now I have one and a half weeks to get ready for the Australian Open."

Nadal converted the only break point he had but that was not enough as Monfils racked up three breaks, including in the final game, for a notable victory.

"I am very happy, because it is not every day that one can beat the world number one," Monfils said. "I made sure not to stop and watch him play, and I always believed in my chances, so I'm really happy."

Monfils, a finalist in Doha in 2006, will face fourth seed Andy Roddick in the last four after the American breezed past Victor Hanescu, 6-3, 6-2.

"Now in the semifinal I am facing another top-10 player," Monfils said. "I don't want to dwell too much on my victory. I am already thinking of my semifinal against Roddick."

Roddick was particularly dominant on serve against the Romanian and will need to match that Friday if he is to deny Monfils a place in the final.

Second seed Roger Federer progressed through to the last four but he was given a stern test by Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber.

The Swiss, champion in Doha in 2005 and 2006, maintained his record of not dropping a set in this year's tournament, saving three set points in the second set to record a 6-2, 7-6 (8-6) win.

Federer began like a man in a hurry, racing into a 3-0 lead, but eighth seed Kohlschreiber broke straight back.

Parity was short-lived, however, as a focused-looking Federer rattled off three straight games to take the first set.

That quickly became six games in a row as the 13-time Grand Slam champion seemingly took a firm grip on the match.

To his credit, Kohlschreiber never gave up hope and he was rewarded for taking the match to his opponent with a break of his own to get back on serve.

The German then withstood more pressure on his serve to level at 4-4.

Kohlschreiber was by now playing with aggression and no little skill, and he saved his best for the tiebreak, where he surged into a 5-1 lead before racking up three set points.

It was still not enough to force a deciding set, however, as Federer dug deep to level at 6-6 before sealing victory with a searing forehand down the line.

Federer's win set up a U.S. Open final rematch with third-seeded Andy Murray, who ousted Ukrainian Sergiy Stakhovsky, 6-4, 6-2.

Murray lost to Federer in the final at Flushing Meadows last summer, but the Brit has won the past two encounters and holds a 4-2 edge in the all-time series.

"It will be an interesting match. I really like to play against Murray," Federer said. "I played very well to beat him in the US Open final."

First prize is $183,000.