Indian Wells' Hercules and the Titan: Rafael Nadal Downs Karlovic To Reach Semis

The Spaniard might not have been playing against his nemesis Roger Federer, but this victory over 208 cm (6 ft 10 in) Croatian Ivo Karlovic with a thrilling 5-7, 6-1, 7-6, could be considered a Herculean task.

Karlovic may not be the most talented player on tour; however, his huge serve makes him one of the hardest players to beat.

“That was very tight,” an over joyous Nadal said, “For sure, it was an unbelievably difficult match.”

The first set was equally balanced and went with serve until Nadal, a champion here in 2007 and 2009, was broken in the 11th game to love.

The big Croat upped his game and hit two perfect inside-out forehands for winners that Nadal could only scramble to. Karlovic then held serve to give the Spaniard his first loss of a set in the tournament.

In the first set alone, the Croat served 10 aces.

“If he serve well, nothing to do. A lot of times you’re very far away from the ball,” Nadal stated yesterday in his presser, these words echoing the first set.

Nevertheless, Karlovic was then broken in the second and fourth games of the second set as the Spaniard started to show why he is the world No. 1.

The Mallorcan put on display all of his attributes in the final two sets: strength, skill, technique, speed, tenacity, you name it.

In the second set especially, Nadal was timing his returns brilliantly as he began hitting them for winners. The ability to run from one side of the court to another in a flash in order to hit an impossible passing shot helped the Spaniard win the second set 6-1 and crush Karlovic’s momentum.

It did not matter though, because with “Dr. Ace,” it is always like starting from the beginning. The third set was a repeat of the first, with both players serving well and eventually coming to a tie-breaker.

“I think I played a fantastic second set, returning better than ever,” Nadal said. “In the third, I didn't have chances. His serve was unstoppable.”

Although Nadal was never behind in the tie-breaker, his nervousness was visible. His serves started to hit the net, and they lost some of the oomph that was evident earlier in the match. The Spaniard then admitted this by saying,

“In the tie-break, I was really nervous.  I think I returned fantastic in the tie-break, but I didn't put one first serve on court, so I was really nervous.”

Three times the Spaniard was a mini-break up, but the booming Croat kept clawing himself back with some unstoppable serves and a couple of great rallies that ended with him volleying at the net.

At 6-6, Nadal hit the shot of the match when hitting a running forehand pass down the line that landed into his opponent’s corner when Karlovic tried to serve and volley.

Finally, after two hours and 23 minutes, the exhilarating contest was over when Nadal won the tie-breaker 9-7 with a forehand winner and a Karlovic error. The crowd erupted and Nadal fist-pumped with contentment after finally bringing down the titan.

“For sure, it was an unbelievably difficult match. I love this court, and the fans here are unbelievable,” the Spaniard said afterwards.

So Hercules would live to fight another day, as his next opponent in the semi-final will be another type of titan. To be exact, it will be the “Titan form Tandil,” Juan Martin del Potro, who is showing signs of his 2010 form.

“He's one of the best of the world, for sure,” Nadal said. “When you are in a difficult situation like he was last year and you come back and you start to win, you are stronger than before, because you’re motivated and you want to recover the time that you lost for one year.”