Tennis: Gonzalez Makes Light Work of Nadal to Set Up Semi-final With Haas

Fernando Gonzalez will play Tommy Haas in the second semi-final at the Australian Open after storming to an upset victory over second seed Rafael Nadal in three quick sets.

Nadal, showing signs of fatigue after his gruelling five-set victory over Andrew Murray on Monday, never really got going against tenth seed Gonzalez, slumping to a 6-2, 6-4, 6-3 defeat.

His exit means that top seed Roger Federer, who plays sixth seed Andy Roddick in the other semi-final, will be the only one of the top five seeds to reach the final four, after Haas dispatched third seed Nikolay Davydenko earlier in the day.

Haas had things a lot tougher than Nadal mind, needing five sets, during which he saved a match point, to secure the victory.

Despite losing the first set, Davydenko, who has never made it past the quarter-finals of the tournament, looked to have taken control of the match as he claimed the second and third in quick succession, but Haas dug deep to take the final two and seal a 6-3, 2-6, 1-6, 6-1, 7-5 triumph.

Davydenko's match point came on Haas's serve in the 10th game of the final set but the German was eventually able to hold in confident fashion. He then produced a fantastic game to break Davydenko, clinching it with a powerful forehand to serve for the match.

A backhand into the net from the Russian handed Haas two match points. On the first, Davydenko's return was called out but he successfully challenged thanks to Hawkeye. His joy was short-lived, however, as Haas scrambled to win the all-important point and claim a place in the last four of the tournament for the third time in his career.

Today's men's singles results: (12) Tommy Haas (Ger) bt (3) Nikolay Davydenko (Rus) 6-3, 2-6, 1-6, 6-1, 7-5

(10) Fernando Gonzalez (Chi) bt (2) Rafael Nadal (Spa) 6-2, 6-4, 6-3

Despite losing the first set, Davydenko, who has never made it past the quarter-finals of the Australian Open, looked to have taken control of the match as he claimed the second and third sets in quick succession, but Haas dug deep to take the final two and seal a 6-3, 2-6, 1-6, 6-1, 7-5 triumph.

Davydenko had a match point on Haas's serve in the 10th game of the final set but the German was eventually able to hold in confident fashion. He then produced a fantastic game to break the third seed, clinching it with a powerful forehand to serve for the match.

A backhand into the net from the Russian handed Haas two match points. On the first, Davydenko's return was called out but he successfully challenged thanks to Hawkeye. His joy was short-lived, however, as Haas scrambled to win the all-important point and claim a place in the last four of the tournament for the third time in his career.

Haas will face the winner of today's night match in the Rod Laver Arena between Fernando Gonzalez and Rafael Nadal, conqueror of Andy Murray in the fourth round.

Today's men's singles results:

(12) Tommy Haas (Ger) bt (3) Nikolay Davydenko (Rus) 6-3 2-6 1-6 6-1 7-5