FanHouse Novak Djokovic

Five days and eight injury retirements later, the Shanghai Masters semifinals are set.

In the last quarterfinals match on Friday, Ivan Ljubicic pulled out of his match against Rafael Nadal in the third set with noticeable pain in his left thigh. He joined an absurdly long list of players to withdraw due to injury in Shanghai, including reigning U.S. Open champion Juan Martin del Potro and world No. 6 Andy Roddick.

Ljubicic withdrew in the first game of the third set and handed Nadal a spot in the semifinals where he will take on fellow Spaniard Feliciano Lopez, who topped the No. 9-seeded Robin Soderling in straight sets on Thursday.

BEIJING (AP) -- Novak Djokovic won the China Open with a 6-2, 7-6 (4) victory over Croatia's Marin Cilic, and Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia defeated Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland 6-2, 6-4 in the women's final on Sunday.

The second-seeded Serb broke Cilic's serve in the sixth game and again in the eighth to take the first set following a 90-minute rain delay.

The second set was much tighter, with each breaking the other's serve three times to force the tiebreak. But Cilic then struggled, and his return at 6-4 went wide, handing Djokovic the win.

BEIJING (AP) -- Rafael Nadal lost in the semifinals of the China Open on Saturday, falling 6-1, 6-3 to Marin Cilic.

The eighth-seeded Croat cruised past the Spaniard, setting up a final against Serbia's Novak Djokovic, who beat Sweden's Robin Soderling 6-3, 6-3.

In the women's draw, Svetlana Kuznetsova defeated Russian compatriot Nadia Petrova, 6-1, 6-3, to move into the final against 12th seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland, who downed France's Marion Bartoli, 6-4, 6-3.

Cilic broke Nadal's serve twice in the first set, racing to a 5-0 lead as the world's second-ranked player struggled against the 21-year-old's booming serve and aggressive returns. Cilic racked up six aces in the first set, with a first-serve percentage of 83.

BEIJING (AP) -- Rafael Nadal moved into the semifinals of the China Open on Friday by defeating Marat Safin 6-3, 6-1.

Nadal outplayed the former top-ranked Russian from the start and remains on track to meet Novak Djokovic in the finals Sunday. Djokovic defeated Fernando Verdasco of Spain 6-3, 1-6, 6-1.

"I think I played a really good match," Nadal said. "I'm happy about my level."

Safin plans to retire at the end of this season, and thanked the fans for their support.

GENEVA (AP) -- Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal could face each other in the first round of next year's Davis Cup after Spain drew Switzerland on Wednesday.

Federer and Nadal, the top two players, have never met in the Davis Cup.

"We have to accept how the draw is. We'll try to beat them in Spain," Switzerland captain Severin Luthi said. "For sure that's one of the toughest draws we can have."

Call 2009 the year of the fallen giant. A month after friend Tiger Woods lost a 54-hole lead in a major championship for the first time in his career, Roger Federer lost in a Grand Slam final by a guy not named Rafael Nadal.

Juan Martin del Potro did the unthinkable on Monday at the U.S. Open, defeating the 15-time Grand Slam champion after losing the first set to Federer in Arthur Ashe Stadium. Del Potro took the match in five sets, winning 3-6, 7-6, 4-6, 7-6, 6-2 for his first Grand Slam title.

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The between-the-legs shot in tennis is similar to the flop shot in golf. Yeah, it's fun to watch, but there is a small percentage of something positive actually coming out of it. Well, unless you're Roger Federer.

In the semifinals against Novak Djokovic, Federer was up 15-30 in the final game of the third set, hoping to break Novak to cruise to a three-set win and a spot in a Grand Slam final for the 17th time in the last 18 majors. Novak hit a drop shot, Federer ran in, and after getting it back over the net, Djokovic went for the lob. Federer ran it down, hitting a between the legs winner he called his best shot ever.

Video is after the jump ...

NEW YORK (AP) -- Novak Djokovic has reached the U.S. Open semifinals for the third consecutive year.

The No. 4-seeded Djokovic of Serbia beat No. 10 Fernando Verdasco of Spain 7-6 (2), 1-6, 7-5, 6-2 on Wednesday.

A trainer treated Verdasco for a stomach muscle problem during the match.

Djokovic, the 2008 Australian Open champion, lost to Roger Federer in the 2007 final and the 2008 semifinals at Flushing Meadows.

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WIMBLEDON, England (AP) -- Tommy Haas's dream Wimbledon run continued on Wednesday when he unseated fourth seed Novak Djokovic 7-5, 7-6, 4-6, 6-3 in their quarter-final at the All England Club.

The German 24th seed, a first-time quarter-finalist here, broke in game 11 of the opening set and served out to take the lead after 45 minutes.

Djokovic wasted three set points in the second set tiebreak before Haas wrapped it up 8-6 before the Serb mounted a comeback by taking the third.

Over the years, talk of Andy Roddick finally "getting there" has been inaccurate. The top-ranked American has reached the finals at Wimbledon twice, but despite a brief moment in the first set of the finals in 2004, Andy has always seemed a touch short of championship caliber.

Maybe not this year. Roddick took down No. 20 Thomas Berdych 7-6, 6-4, 6-3 in a match that was hardly competitive after the first set tiebreaker. Andy rode his 24 aces to easy service games, never even facing a break point, but the comfort he has shown with his ground strokes is what has really stood out in 2009.