Ivan Ljubicic came from behind to upset defending champion Rafael Nadal and reach the men's final at Indian Wells.
Croat comes from behind to beat defending champion
Ivan Ljubicic came from behind to upset defending champion Rafael Nadal and reach the men's final of the Indian Wells ATP tournament.
The 20th seeded Croatian recorded a 3-6 6-4 7-6 (7-1) triumph over the Spanish star to set up a meeting with Andy Roddick in Sunday's final.
He crunched a forehand down the line to win the third set tie-break and wrap victory over the third seed in two hours and 34 minutes.
It was only his second victory over Nadal in seven meetings, and his first in five years, and the 31-year-old thrust both arms aloft in delight on winning.
Serving great
He said: "I was serving great. Rafa off the baseline was fantastic and there was not much I could really do."
The Croatian began the match tentatively, twice double-faulting before netting a forehand to be broken in the first game.
He also lost his serve in the ninth, after a clever Nadal lob forced an error, to lose the opening set in 34 minutes.
The Spaniard, whose crosscourt forehand was scintillating, seemed poised for a straight sets demolition after going 40-15 up on Ljubicic's serve in the sixth game of the second set.
But the big-serving Croat saved four break points to hold and then broke Nadal for the first time in the ninth game after the Spaniard double-faulted, before levelling the match.
Service breaks were traded in the first two games of the third set before the players went into a tie-break which Ljubicic dominated as Nadal made a series of unforced errors.
Crucial
Big-serving American Roddick stands between Ljubicic and the Indian Wells crown after he saw off Andy Murray's conqueror Robin Soderling 6-4 3-6 6-3 in the otehr semi-final.
Roddick converted the only break point of the first set to take the advantage against Sweden's Soderling, who had looked in imperious form in his straight-sets dismantling of Murray.
Soderling broke twice in the next, dropping his own serve once, to level the match as Roddick's second serve let him down.
The American picked it up in the decider, though, and this time it was he who got the two crucial breaks to move into the final.
