July 06, 2007	Friday	Jamadi-us-Sani 20, 1428

LONDON, July 5: Erasing a two-set deficit despite playing on a fourth consecutive day, Rafael Nadal came back to beat Mikhail Youzhny in five sets on Thursday and reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals.

Nadal, the 2006 runner-up, picked up early service breaks in each of the final three sets to win 4-6, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2.

Venus Williams had a much easier time on Thursday, playing outstanding tennis to reach the semi-finals by beating Russian fifth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-3, 6-4. Williams will next face French Open finalist Ana Ivanovic, who defeated No 14 Nicole Vaidisova 4-6, 6-2, 7-5.

Serbia’s Ivanovic saved three match points and beginning with the last one, won 13 of 15 points. That sent her on her way to taking the match's last four games. It ended when Vaidisova double-faulted for the sixth time.

“I knew I could do it,” Ivanovic said. “I knew I could make some good shots and be aggressive and move forward and put pressure.”

Youzhny, one of only three players to have beaten Nadal twice in the last year, struggled midway through his match with pain in his lower back.

He called for a trainer after losing the third set. Lying on his stomach, the Russian got his lower back massaged. After the fifth game of the fourth set, he was again on the ground with the trainer stretching his back.

Nadal's third-round match, which was supposed to begin on Saturday, didn't finish until Wednesday. The three-time French Open champion failed to convert his first match point on Monday, and had to wait until Wednesday to get another because of rain delays.

Nadal is trying to become the first man to win the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year since Bjorn Borg in 1980.

In the quarter0finals, the second-seeded Spaniard will face No 7 Tomas Berdych, who beat Jonas Bjorkman 6-4, 6-0, 6-7 (6-8), 6-0.

10th seed Marcos Baghdatis, who lost to Nadal in last year's semi-finals, advanced by beating No 6 Nikolay Davydenko 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 in the fourth round. He will next play No 4 Novak Djokovic, who beat 2002 champion Lleyton Hewitt 7-6 (10-8), 7-6 (7-2), 4-6, 7-6 (7-5).

There was one brief rain delay on some courts on Thursday, meaning it's drizzled on nine of the tournament's 10 days. But Wimbledon referee Andrew Jarrett was confident the tournament would finish on time.

“We can still finish on Sunday,” Jarrett said. “That is what we'll plan for and what we're aiming for.”

Williams, a three-time champion at the All England Club, has been dominating on her serve in the last two rounds, and she again did what was needed to earn enough breaks to advance.

Williams had three aces, and 2004 US Open champion Kuznetsova failed to put another 21 serves into play. The American won 76 percent of the points played on her first serve, averaging 175 kph (109 mph).

Her only struggle came when serving for the match. Leading 40-0, Williams lost four straight points and faced a break point. But she fought back and won when Kuznetsova sent a forehand long – the Russian's 24th unforced error.

Williams started the season with a wrist injury and is not even ranked in the top 30. Seeded only No 23 at the All England Club, she struggled early in the tournament, needing three sets to beat 59th-ranked Alla Kudryavtseva in the first round and coming within two points of defeat against 71st-ranked Akiko Morigami in the third.

Williams was broken once Thursday, but the five-time Grand Slam champion responded by breaking back against Kuznetsova at love.

On Wednesday, she easily beat 2004 champion Maria Sharapova in a match that started on Tuesday but was suspended for the night after only three points were played.

Thursday’s results (prefix number denotes seeding):

Men’s singles:

Fourth round: 4-Novak Djokovic (Serbia) beat 16-Lleyton Hewitt (Australia) 7-6 (10-8), 7-6 (7-2), 4-6, 7-6 (7-5); 2-Rafael Nadal (Spain) beat 14-Mikhail Youzhny (Russia) 4-6, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2; 7-Tomas Berdych (Czech Republic) beat 19-Jonas Bjorkman (Sweden) 6-4, 6-0, 6-7 (6-8), 6-0; 10-Marcos Baghdatis (Cyprus) beat 6-Nikolay Davydenko (Russia) 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-5), 6-3.

Women’s singles:

Quarter-finals: 6-Ana Ivanovic (Serbia) beat 14-Nicole Vaidisova (Czech Republic) 4-6, 6-2, 7-5; 23-Venus Williams (US) beat 5-Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia) 6-3, 6-4.—Agencies