Nadal eliminated from Aussie tuneup

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

DOHA, Qatar -- Top-ranked Rafael Nadal of Spain was eliminated from the Qatar Open on Thursday, losing to Gael Monfils of France 6-4, 6-4 in quarter-final action.

Nadal, who cruised through his first two matches at the season-opening event, was broken twice in the first set and once in the second, and finished the match with only 10 winners. Monfils had 35.

"He played better than me. That's what happened," Nadal said. "I had my chances ... but he was serving really well.

"Maybe I need more time on court. I played two matches in Abu Dhabi and three here, which is good, but I need more matches."

Last week, at an exhibition tournament in the United Arab Emirates, Nadal lost to fourth-ranked Andy Murray of Scotland in the final.

Second-ranked Roger Federer advanced to the semifinals by beating Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany 6-2, 7-6 (6). The Swiss star saved three set points in the tiebreaker after trailing 5-1 and 6-3, eventually reeling off five straight points to win.

Nadal is preparing for the Australian Open, where he reached the semifinals last year for his best showing at the season's first major tournament.

"There is still 1 1/2 weeks to go for the Australian Open," said Nadal, who is only 22 but has already won five Grand Slam titles. "I am not playing any event anywhere now.

"I will practise here and I fly out to Australia on Sunday. I will not go with any bad feeling with this loss. I am playing well. I just need more matches."

Monfils, a 14th-ranked Frenchman who reached the Qatar Open final in 2006 but is playing this year as a wild card, had eight aces to none for Nadal.

"I had an almost perfect start to the match and I played well on most points," Monfils said. "I didn't allow him to settle down. I think he was a little tired (in the second set).

"I kept my serve and I am very happy about that."

Nadal said it simply wasn't his day.

"Monfils served really well," Nadal said. "If he wants to improve his ranking, he will have to play like he did today.

"I knew it won't be easy at the start of the season, but I am happy with my game."

Monfils reached the French Open semifinals last year -- his best-ever showing at a Grand Slam tournament -- but lost to Federer. Nadal then beat Federer to win his fourth straight title at Roland Garros, and claimed his first Wimbledon title a few weeks after that.

"When I started my match, I didn't look at him," Monfils said. "Rafa is Rafa, he is a tough player so I just played my game.

"I will take it step by step now. I think I can reach the top five, but I will have to keep working hard and playing well like this."

Monfils will next face American Andy Roddick in the semifinals. The eighth-ranked American defeated unseeded Victor Hanescu of Romania 6-3, 6-2.

"I feel good right now," Roddick said. "I am keeping it pretty tight on the court.

"The drop shots helped a lot. I guess it helps to have those things worked on during the off-season."

Roddick's serve was also working, and he finished the match with 13 aces.

"I got troubled in the match just once, but like last night (a 6-3, 7-5 win over Arnaud Clement of France), I came up with the big serves when it mattered most," Roddick said.

Murray was to play later Thursday.