DUBAI, March 7: Andy Roddick, who flew 6,000 miles and endured jet-lag and sleep loss to travel from Memphis to the Dubai Open, overcame Rafael Nadal, the man regarded as one of the fittest on the tour, to become a surprise semi-finalist on Thursday.

The sixth-seeded former US Open champion from the United States, turned in a spirited and impressive display to win 76-(5), 6-2 against the second-seeded French Open champion from Spain.

Roddick was fortunate that the conditions were relatively warm and fast, and not unsuitable for his big-hitting style.

But although Roddick hit one delivery at 150 mph — only five miles an hour slower than his world record — and finished the contest with two thundering aces, he was sometimes surprisingly effective in the rallies.

The match turned dramatically after Roddick had come back from 0-3 down in the tie-break and sneaked it 7-5 after Nadal uncharacteristically over-hit a forehand service return.

Roddick was aided by another uncharacteristic error by Nadal at 30-40 in the third game of the second set, when the ground stroke king struck a forehand topspin into the net from a half-court position.

Nadal never recovered from that service game loss and Roddick accelerated to a semi-final meeting with another in-form player, Novak Djokovic.

The third-seeded Australian Open champion from Serbia overwhelmed Igor Andreev, the world number 34 from Russia, 6-2, 6-1 and has now — following the demise of both Nadal and Roger Federer — become the favourite for the title.

Earlier, Nikolay Davydenko, the Russian who has to play with the constant uncertainty of an investigation hanging around him, earned himself a great chance of reaching only his second ATP Tour final for 17 months.

The world number five from Moscow overcame Briton Andy Murray 7-5, 6-4, to become another unexpected semi-finalist.

Davydenko mixed consistency with aggression with superb attacks from the baseline against an opponent who had eliminated world number one Roger Federer in the first round.

Davydenko won because his aggression was more effective than Murray’s preference for containment and defence and occasional counter-attack, although the outcome might have been different had the 20-year-old Scot taken his chances.

Murray had break points in both of Davydenko’s first two service games, and two more in the sixth game of the second set.

Davydenko now plays Feliciano Lopez, the Spaniard who played superbly to reach the final here four years ago but who had previously won only one match since October.

Lopez, who has sunk to 41 in the world rankings, upset his compatriot, the fourth-seeded David Ferrer, by 6-4, 6-3, clearly enjoying the fastish hard court conditions and warm weather.

Results (prefix number denotes seeding):

Quarter-finals:

5-Nikolay Davydenko (Russia) bt Andy Murray (Great Britain) 7-5, 6-4; Feliciano Lopez (Spain) bt 4-David Ferrer (Spain) 6-4, 6-3; 6-Andy Roddick (US) bt 2-Rafael Nadal (Spain) 7-6 (7/5), 6-2; 3-Novak Djokovic (Serbia) bt Igor Andreev (Russia) 6-2, 6-1.

GONZALEZ OUSTED

LAS VEGAS (Nevada): Top-seeded Fernando Gonzalez and number three Marcos Baghdatis became the latest seeds to tumble out of the Las Vegas Open on Thursday.

Chile’s Gonzalez, playing in his first tournament since suffering an abdominal injury that sidelined him for almost a month, fell 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) to Russia’s Evgeny Korolev in the second round.

Gonzalez, who won his most recent event at Vina del Mar last month, couldn’t get past Korolev, who recorded the final four points of the tiebreaker after wasting several match points earlier in the second set.

Gonzalez followed second seed and defending champion Lleyton Hewitt of Australia, fifth-seeded Potito Starace of Italy, sixth-seeded Michael Llodra of France and eighth-seeded German Nicolas Kiefer out of the tournament.

On Thursday night, third-seeded Cypriot Baghdatis also fell, losing 7-6 (7/2), 6-3 to American Robby Ginepri.

Korolev next will face South African qualifier Kevin Anderson, who outlasted American wild card John Isner 7-6 (7/2), 7-5.

Anderson did not face a break point in the match against Isner.

Teenager Ernests Gulbis of Latvia advanced to the quarter-finals with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Australian qualifier Peter Luczak.

The 19-year-old Gulbis blasted 12 aces and saved both of the break points he faced to book a quarter-final clash with Ginepri.

In other quarter-finals, fourth-seeded Argentine Guillermo Canas will play US qualifier Amer Delic and American Sam Querrey will play France’s Julien Benneteau, who ousted Hewitt on Wednesday.

Results:

Second round: Evgeny Korolev (Russia) bt 1-Fernando Gonzalez (Chile) 6-3, 7-6 (7/4); Ernests Gulbis (Latvia) bt Peter Luczak (Australia) 6-2, 6-1; Kevin Anderson (South Africa) bt John Isner (US) 7-6 (7/2), 7-5; Robby Ginepri (US) bt 3-Marcos Baghdatis (Cyprus) 7-6 (7/2), 6-3.

JANKOVIC IN LAST EIGHT

BANGALORE: Top seed Jelena Jankovic of Serbia sailed into the quarter-finals of the WTA Bangalore Open on Thursday, while number two Venus Williams of the United States needed three sets to advance.

Jankovic, the world number four, eased past unheralded Sanda Mamic of Croatia 6-2, 6-2 in an hour, while Venus survived a mid-match hiccup before defeating China’s Peng Shuai, 6-2, 6-7 (6/8), 6-2.

The top two seeds, along with Venus’ third-seeded sister Serena, are the tournament favourites. Serena and fourth seed Patty Schnyder of Switzerland had advanced to the quarter-finals on Wednesday.

In the quarter-finals, Jankovic will meet Yan Zi of China, who bested Olga Savchuk of Ukraine 6-2, 6-1 in under an hour.

In another second-round match, seventh-seeded Vera Zvonareva of Russia overcame a sluggish start to defeat qualifier Agnes Szatmari of Romania, 7-6 (7/5), 6-1.

Results:

Second round: Yan Zi (China) bt Olga Savchuk (Ukraine) 6-2, 6-1; 7-Vera Zvonareva (Russia) bt Agnes Szatmari (Romania) 7-6 (7/5), 6-1; 2-Venus Williams (US) bt Peng Shuai (China) 6-2, 6-7 (6/8), 6-2; 1-Jelena Jankovic (Serbia) bt Sanda Mamic (Croatia) 6-2, 6-2.—Agencies