Rafa tames hurricane Ivan in straight sets

Rafael Nadal improved his record at Roland Garros to 42-1,beating Ivan Ljubicic 7-5,6-3,6-3 to reach the quarterfinals of the French Open.

Rafael Nadal improved his record at Roland Garros to 42-1,beating Ivan Ljubicic 7-5,6-3,6-3 Monday to reach the quarterfinals of the French Open. The five-time champion was not troubled on Court Philippe Chatrier,and the win kept him on course to equal Bjorn Borgs record of six titles on the Parisian clay.

I have improved since the tournament started, said Nadal. Im able to play better and Im going to continue on this path.

Novak Djokovic also had a successful day,even though he wasnt scheduled to play. The second-seeded Serb reached the semifinals of the tournament where he could meet Roger Federer when quarterfinal opponent Fabio Fognini withdrew because of injury.

Australian Open runner-up Li Na also advanced Monday. The sixth-seeded Chinese player reached the quarterfinals by beating No. 9 Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic 2-6,6-1,6-3.

Nadal won four straight titles at the French Open before losing to Robin Soderling in the fourth round in 2009. He will face Soderling in the quarterfinals this year after the fifth-seeded Swede defeated Gilles Simon of France 6-2,6-3,7-6 (5). Meanwhile,Djokovic,who will not be credited with a victory because Fognini withdrew,is after his own records.

If he wins his semifinal match,he would equal John McEnroes Open era record of 42-0 for the best start to a tennis season and clinch the No. 1 ranking. With three more wins,the second-seeded Serb will match the record of 46 straight wins set by Guillermo Vilas in 1977.

The two-time Australian Open champion has never won the title at Roland Garros,but he beat Nadal in two clay-court finals leading up to the French Open.

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Fognini,who injured a muscle in his left leg while beating Albert Montanes on Sunday,announced Monday that he would not be able to play Djokovic,who is 41-0 in 2011 and has won 43 straight matches overall. Its better for him, Nadal said of Djokovics advancement. He is going to really rest ahead of his semifinal.

Mirza in doubles semis

Meanwhile,Sania Mirza and and her partner Elena Vesnina shocked top seeds Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta 6-0,7-5 to reach the womens doubles semifinals in the French Open. This is the first time that Sania has reached the womens doubles semifinals in a Grand Slam event.

In another pleasing result for India,Davis Cupper Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-ul-haq Qureshi advanced to the mens doubles quarter-finals with a 6-3 7-5 win over Andrey Golubev and Denis Istomin. It will be the third quarter-final appearance in the last four Grand Slams for Bopanna and Qureshi.

The Indo-Pak pair play Bob and Mike Bryan next the highest ranked team in the world.