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The Honolulu Advertiser
Updated at 12:48 p.m., Saturday, March 22, 2008

Tennis: Djokovic beats Nadal, reaches Indian Wells final

Associated Press

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — Novak Djokovic rolled to a 6-3, 6-2 victory over defending champion Rafael Nadal today to earn a spot in the Pacific Life Open final.

Djokovic, ranked No. 3 to Nadal's No. 2, will face the winner of the Roger Federer-Mardy Fish semifinal for the title at Indian Wells. The top-ranked Federer has won the event three of the past four years.

A 20-year-old Serb, Djokovic defeated Federer in the semifinals of the Australian Open on his way to winning the title earlier this year.

Avenging last year's loss to Nadal in the Indian Wells final, Djokovic served eight aces to two by Nadal, and hit 20 winners to the Spaniard's 11.

Their match included several long, spectacular rallies when each dashed around the court making difficult returns. More often than not, Djokovic would end those rallies by driving a winner down the lines, or Nadal would finally miss a shot.

Nadal won last year's championship showdown in the desert 6-2, 7-5. The 21-year-old still holds a 6-3 edge in career matches against Djokovic, but is 2-3 against him on hard courts.

Both the men's and women's finals are on Sunday. Ana Ivanovic faces Svetlana Kuznetsova for the women's title.