TENNIS:RAFAEL NADAL, having replaced his pirate pants with shorts which reveal more clearly the tapes round his troublesome knees, and minus some of his usual buccaneering swagger as well, admitted after a surprise quarter-final defeat in the Qatar Open that his preparations for the 2009 season have been adversely affected.

The world number one finished the last one unable to play the final two events of 2008, and the rest which he needed ate significantly into his practice time. This much Nadal was prepared to volunteer after his second defeat in six days, a 6-4, 6-4 loss to Gael Monfils of France.

Admittedly, the other defeat, in three long sets to Andy Murray in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, came in an exhibition, but his words and moderate form will raise questions as to whether he can be in good enough shape to be the genuine front-runner at the Australian Open starting in 10 days' time.

"I didn't play many matches in the last few months so I didn't have time for rhythm and playing well every day," he said. "But I have had two good wins here and three (matches) in Abu Dhabi, so I hope that is enough. I have one and a half weeks to prepare for the Australian Open."

Asked if there was any damage to his confidence, Nadal replied: "My confidence is high. I knew that the beginning of the season was not going to be easy because, although I have had more rest than other players, I have also had more time outside of competition than others. So it is a little bit more difficult to come back fast to my rhythm."

He was, of course, playing one of the most dangerous players of all, and one with more than enough ability to join the top five in 2009. Monfils hit the ball with exciting ferocity, often after playing medium-paced rallies, and accelerating the speed of the ball down the lines where the change of pace had maximum effect.

He also served well, mostly kept his head when it mattered, and showed that he is the fastest mover on the tour, bar none.

It denied the tournament the chance of seeing the first meeting between Nadal and Roger Federer since their sensational Wimbledon final six months ago.

Federer, who by all accounts has had his longest and most satisfactory preparation for a season yet, reached the semi-final with a tremendous five-point acceleration from 6-3 and three set points down in the tie-breaker to win 6-2, 7-6 against Philipp Kohlschreiber from Germany.

Andy Murray set up another meeting with Federer by beating Sergiy Stakhovsky 6-4, 6-2 to reach the semi-finals. Murray, the defending champion in Doha, came out on top last week in the semi-finals of the World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi, a contest that was the latest in a series of close matches between the duo.

Meanwhile, third-seeded Croatian Marin Cilic roared into the quarter-finals of the Chennai Open with a clinical display yesterday, while twice former champion Carlos Moya was stunned by Indian wildcard Somdev Devvarman.

World number 27 Cilic, the highest seed left, dismantled Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan 6-0, 6-4 in the second round after baseliner Devvarman pulled off a spectacular victory over the former world number one.

Former world number one Amelie Mauresmo upset top seed Ana Ivanovic 6-3, 6-2 to advance to the semi-finals of the Brisbane International yesterday.

Mauresmo, who has slipped down the rankings since she won the Australian Open and Wimbledon titles in 2006, dominated the world number five and sealed victory after 67 minutes when the Serbian hit a backhand into the net with the court open.

Ivanovic, who was briefly the world's top ranked player last year, has struggled at the Brisbane tournament and her performances have placed question marks over her Australian Open credentials.

In the men's draw, third seed Fernando Verdasco of Spain came from a set down to beat France's Florent Serra 4-6, 6-0, 6-3.

A noticeable presence of protestors outside the venue failed to stop Olympic champion Elena Dementieva from marching into the semi-finals of the Auckland Classic yesterday. The top seed was largely untroubled during a 6-3, 6-1 win over fifth-seeded Israeli Shahar Peer and will now meet Aravane Rezai after the Frenchwoman dispatched Romania's Edina Gallovits 6-3, 6-2.

About 20 peace activists had staged a protest outside the venue in central Auckland against Israel's invasion of Gaza and the presence of Peer at the tournament.

Guardian Service