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Del Potro upsets Djokovic at Indian Wells

By BETH HARRIS - AP Sports Writer

Friday, Mar. 15, 2013 | 09:53 PM

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INDIAN WELLS, Calif. -- Cracking winners off his forehand in key moments, Juan Martin del Potro defeated top-ranked Novak Djokovic 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Open on Saturday, handing the Serb his first loss in 21 matches dating to last October.

Del Potro snapped his own four-match skid against Djokovic, who had beaten the Argentine in eight of 10 career meetings.

"I'm trying to hit hard with my forehands. When I have the chance to come to the net, I did all the time," he said. "I was just focusing to put in my first serve and move to my forehands, trying to make winners."

Del Potro's 133-mph ace closed out the nearly 3-hour match featuring nine breaks of serve in 96-degree heat. He raised both arms in celebration and Djokovic hugged him at the net.

Del Potro, the second Argentine to reach the final here, will play Rafael Nadal for the title on Sunday. They each have three wins against each other on hard courts.

"When you play the top guys, they are the favorites, but I will try to do my game like just like today and then see if Rafa give me a little chance to win," Del Potro said.

No. 2 seed Maria Sharapova and No. 8 Caroline Wozniacki will play in the women's final.

At times, the unseasonable heat seemed to have worn down Del Potro, who draped a white towel packed with ice around his shoulders on changeovers, his chest heaving from several long rallies.

Del Potro was coming off a three-set win over Andy Murray in similarly hot conditions in Friday's quarterfinals.

The heat - nearly 20 degrees above the average of 78 - also affected Djokovic, as did the shadows that eventually overtook the court as the afternoon wore on. He blew a 3-0 lead in the final set, and from there, Del Potro won six of the last seven games.

Djokovic attributed Del Potro's dramatic turnaround to "his fighting spirit and my lack of concentration.

"I didn't deserve to win. Whenever I had chances, second, third set, I throw them away with some unforced errors. My movement was poor, and I congratulate my opponent," he said.

It was Djokovic's first loss since Oct. 31, when American Sam Querrey beat him indoors at the Paris Masters. The Serb had won 17 consecutive matches and two titles, including the Australian Open, to start the year.

It was Djokovic's second-longest winning streak of his career. Against Top-10 players, he had won 14 in a row since losing to Murray in last year's U.S. Open final.

"He deserved to win because he was more composed in the important moments and he played the right shots," Djokovic said about the seventh-ranked Del Potro. "He stepped into the court, where on the other side, I made a lot of unforced errors and was at back of the court too passive."

Del Potro had 25 winners, 34 unforced errors and saved 7 of 11 break points.

Nadal rallied to beat Tomas Berdych 6-4, 7-5 in the other semi and reach his fourth ATP Tour final in as many events.

Off to the best start of his career, Nadal improved to 16-1 - including 13 wins in a row - on the year, having won two clay-court titles and been runner-up in another since returning from a left knee injury that idled him for seven months.

"It's very, very difficult to imagine something like this. But here we are today, and very happy about all what happened the last month, especially last three weeks," said Nadal, who beat No. 2 Roger Federer in straight sets in the quarterfinals.

"I don't have nothing to lose after seven months. I did much more than what I dreamed."

It was Nadal's 12th straight win over Berdych, including seven consecutive on hard courts.


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