Rafael Nadal staged a rousing comeback from two sets down to defeat gallant Russian Mikhail Youzhny yesterday and reach the Wimbledon quarterfinals.

The Spanish second seed, the runner-up to Roger Federer in 2006, triumphed 4-6, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 in an enthralling three-hour contest and will now face seventh seed Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic for a place in the semifinals.

Berdych, the man who famously beat Roger Federer in the 2004 Athens Olympics, will be competing in his first grand slam quarterfinal after he downed veteran Swede Jonas Bjorkman 6-4, 6-0, 6-7, 6-0.

It was the second five-setter for the French Open champion at the championships after seeing off Robin Soderling in the third round in a match which took four, rain-soaked days to complete.

His win was also the second Wimbledon in succession that he had had come back from a two-set deficit after staring defeat in the face against America's Robert Kendrick in the second round last year.

Serbian fourth seed Novak Djokovic overcame a back injury as well as the famed fighting spirit of former champion Lleyton Hewitt to reach the Wimbledon quarterfinals in a four-hour thriller.

The 20-year-old clinched a 7-6 (10/8), 7-6 (7/2), 4-6, 7-6 (7/5) win over the 16th seeded Australian and will take on Cypriot 10th seed Marcos Baghdatis for a place in the semifinal.

Baghdatis conducted a band of raucous fans out on Court 13 with some swashbuckling tennis to beat durable Russian sixth seed Nikolay Davydenko 7-6, 7-6, 6-3.

The defeat was Hewitt's earliest exit from the All England Club since 2003 when he was a shock first round casualty as defending champion.

But yesterday he played his part in a memorable feast of big-hitting and marathon rallies against the Serbian player who is being tipped as a future Grand Slam winner.

"I expected a very difficult match against Lleyton and I knew I had to be at 100 percent," said Djokovic who will be playing in his first quarterfinal at the All England Club.

"This win means a lot to me. Now I will face Baghdatis, he is a great guy and a fantastic player. He showed he is a quality player by reaching the semifinals here last year."

Venus into semis

In the women's side, Venus Williams moved to within two matches of a fourth Wimbledon singles crown after a straight sets win over former US Open winner Svetlana Kuznetsova in her quarterfinal.

The American, who had blown Maria Sharapova off court in her fourth round tie, was in equally imperious form as she beat the Russian fifth seed 6-3, 6-4 to advance to a semifinal meeting with Serbia's Ana Ivanovic.

In contrast, sixth seed Ivanovic, runner-up at last month's French Open, had to come from a set down and save three match points to squeeze past the Czech Republic's Nicole Vaidisova, 4-6, 6-2, 7-5.

With her younger sister Serena having been eliminated by Justine Henin in the quarter-finals, the 2000, 2001 and 2005 champion Venus is looking like the only player left in the draw with the game to stop world number one Henin from completing a full set of Grand Slam titles here.

And the depth of the American's confidence was underlined by her response to a question about who she regarded as the favorite among the women left in the draw.

"Now why would I say anyone else?" she asked. "C'mon, I think my self-esteem would be quite low if I would name another person."

Going into the match, Kuznetsova had won three of her five meetings with the American, including their most recent meeting, on clay in Warsaw earlier this year.

But you would not have guessed it from the way in which Williams claimed the opening set in just half an hour.

The Russian proved more resilient in the second, recovering from 0-40 down in the opening game of the set and then immediately matching the break Williams claimed to take a 3-2 lead.

But Williams was not to be denied. A break for 4-3 gave her the advantage once more and a string of unreturnable serves left Kuznetsova serving to stay in the match.

The Russian managed to cling on and she saved four match points before finally bowing to the inevitable by sending a forehand beyond the baseline.

(China Daily via AFP July 6, 2007)