TENNIS in DEPTH.

Top seed Rafael Nadal was pushed all the way by American James Blake at the China Open on Thursday.

Playing his first tournament since the US Open, a late break saw the Spaniard take the first set 7-5 and, after dropping the second on a tie-break, a single break was enough to see him wrap up the decider 6-3 and set up a clash with Marat Safin.

The former world number one from Russia needed just one hour and nine minutes to upset seventh seed Fernando Gonzalez 6-3 6-4.

Meanwhile, Croatia’s Ivan Ljubicic battled past Lukasz Kubot in three tight sets, winning 7-6 (8/6) 4-6 6-4 despite the Polish qualifier’s stunning first-serve percentage of 83.

In the day’s final match, sixth seed Robin Soderling saw off Spain’s Tommy Robredo 6-3 6-3 in one hour and 20 minutes.

He will face Ljubicic in Friday’s third quarter-final.

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The 2000 Rogers Cup champion, Marat Safin, is calling it quits at the end of this season (six tournaments left – he’s counting). He leaves Montreal after a 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 loss to No. 13 seed Gael Monfils of France last night that was a mirror image of so many of his losses in his final season.

There were periods of inspired play; but when the match is in his hands (he was up an early break in the third set), the nerves kick in and it just gets away from him.

“Every match is – it’s a battle. It’s very tough to motivate. It’s very tough not to choke in important moments. For some reason it should be the other way around. I should enjoy it more. But I want to finish up nicely,” Safin said. “It’s getting into my head in important moments.”

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Marat Safin came from a set down to defeat Ernests Gulbis and set up a clash with top seed Tommy Haas in the quarter-finals of the LA Open.

Eighth seed Safin beat Latvia’s Gulbis 2-6 6-3 6-4 to book a clash against Germany’s Haas, who saw off the United States’ Jesse Levine 6-1 6-3 in 62 minutes.

America’s John Isner overcame an injury late in the second set tie-break to beat out-of-form Marcos Baghdatis 6-3 7-6 and set up a quarter-final meeting with qualifier Carsten Ball.

The Australian progressed as a result of opponent Dmitry Tursunov, the number three seed, having to retire with an ankle injury.

Ball won the first set but trailed 1-0 in the second when Russian Tursunov decided he was unable to continue.

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 Marat Safin took the court Tuesday evening for his first-round match against last week’s Indianapolis champion Robby Ginepri and rallied for a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory.

“If you beat Pete Sampras the day before you know you have a good chance of beating Robby Ginepri,” said Safin with a laugh following the match at the ATP World Tour 250 tennis tournament. “Robby is playing really well, coming from a title last week. He is a tough player. It was a well played match from both of us. I was able to go up a break in the beginning of the second set and that helped me to turn the match around.”

The 29-year-old Safin, who has announced he will be playing retiring at the end of the year, will attempt to reach his first quarter-final of the 2009 season when he next faces Latvian Ernests Gulbis, a 7-5, 6-2 winner over Yen-Hsun Lu. Safin, a two-time Los Angeles quarter-finalist, said about the 20 year old: “Gulbis is a young ambitious player. He has a very good serve and plays well from the back. I will need to play my game to beat him.”

Towering American John Isner bounced seventh-seeded German Benjamin Becker out of the LA Tennis Open with a 7-6(8), 7-6(3) win. Isner continued the form that took him into last week’s Indianapolis semi-finals as he fired 15 aces and dropped just four points on his first serve.

Isner, a 2007 NCAA finalist at Georgia Tech, improved to 3-0 lifetime against Becker, who captured the NCAA title at Baylor in 2004. Neither player conceded a break point opportunity in the first set, but in the second set both players dropped serve once, with Becker also forced to fight off an additional seven break point chances against him.

Isner started this week at a career-high No. 77 in the South African Airways 2009 ATP Rankings.

Former Australian Open finalist and World No. 8 Marcos Baghdatis saved eight of nine break points he faced to defeat Indianapolis semi-finalist Frank Dancevic 7-6(3), 6-3 to reach the second round, where he will play Isner. The Cypriot, who is also a former Wimbledon semi-finalist, has slipped to No. 146 in the South African Airways 2009 ATP Rankings.

Baghdatis began the year strongly with a fourth-round showing at the Australian Open and quarter-final appearance in Johannesburg, but he last won consecutive matches on the ATP World Tour back in February at Delray Beach, when he also reached the quarters.

“I am happy to win my first match here and I feel like I’m playing much better,” Baghdatis said. “I’ve been practising really hard and I am trying to get back to my old form.”

Baghdatis saw his ranking plunge during the grass season when he suffered a left knee injury at ‘s-Hertogenbosch, which forced his withdrawal from Wimbledon, where in 2008 he reached the fourth round.

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One thing was clear as Pete Sampras battled Marat Safin on Monday night: he’s still got it.

Safin emerged victorious, 6-4, 3-6, (10-6), but it would not have been obvious judging by the crowd’s reaction at Straus Stadium.

In front of a pro-Sampras audience, the 37-year-old Sampras stole the show and took Safin – eight years his junior and the LA Tennis Open’s No. 8 seed – down to the wire.

“It was too much stress,” Safin told the fans following the match.

Sampras showed glimpses of the finesse he utilized to win 14 Grand Slam titles during a remarkable 15-year career. He displayed his powerful serve, once registering an ace of nearly 130 miles per hour. He pumped his fist and talked to himself – all blatant signs that a competitor still lies inside.

“I miss the crowds, the majors,” Sampras said. “I still enjoy playing.”

And underneath the lights on Monday night, Sampras proved it.

At the beginning, the match had the resemblance of a pick-up game. Sampras would shake his head and smile as Safin eased his way to a 6-4, first-set victory.

But then Sampras stormed back, at one time gesturing towards the stands with his arms extended as if to ask, “Did you see that?”

Sampras, who grew up in nearby Palos Verdes, broke Safin early in the second set, which resulted in another fist pump. Sampras then showcased his precise serve on consecutive aces to extend a 3-0 lead.

He even battled back from a 15-40 deficit to take a fifth point. Another fist pump from Sampras and another loud response from those in attendance.

“I hope the fans had a great time. I had a great time,” Sampras said.

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Pete Sampras, the 14-time Grand Slam Champion who held the No. 1 ranking for a record 286 weeks, will return to the LA Tennis Center at UCLA this summer for the “Millennium Challenge” as part of the 83rd annual LA Tennis Open Presented by Farmers Insurance.

Sampras, a two-time LA Tennis Open Presented by Farmers Insurance champion, will take the court on opening night, July 27, for the “Millennium Challenge,” a rematch of the 2000 US Open final against Russian Marat Safin. Safin claimed the first of his two career Grand Slam titles with that win over Sampras in New York, and holds a 4-3 edge over the American in professional matches. Safin won their last meeting, which came in the fourth round of the 2002 Australian Open.

“We’re thrilled that Pete Sampras, perhaps our greatest champion, is coming back to the LA Tennis Open Presented by Farmers Insurance,” Tournament Director Bob Kramer said. “This will be an outstanding way to kick off our event in 2009. Pete had a great fan following when he played here during his career, and this will be a great way for tennis fans to get to see him play again. It’s hard to believe it’s been nine years since he and Marat played in the US Open final. The rematch on July 27 should be some great tennis.”

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Former world number one Marat Safin tumbled out of the Swedish Open on Wednesday, losing to Spaniard Nicolas Almagro 6-3, 7-6 in the first round and said he was looking forward to a life free from racquets and balls.

Safin, who will retire at the end of the year, is scheduled to play another eight tournaments.

“I’m tired of the tour, tired of staying at hotels and tired of travelling … I’ve had enough now,” the Russian said after having lost the second set tie-break 8-6 on the Swedish clay.

Asked by the Swedish news agency TT if he would be interested in a coaching career, Safin replied: “I am tired of everything that has to do with racquets and balls. I want to do something completely different.”

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In days gone by a coach of a Russian team who screwed up as much as the present Russian coach has done, would have been sent to Siberia. To decide not to play Marat Safin in the singles competition was a huge mistake. Safin, a former #1 player, has a presence on the court that in itself is worth a couple of games per set. Plus he has experience, crisp ball striking, and all the other attributes needed to be a great player. OK, so he lost at Wimbledon to a nobody on a surface he admits he hates, but on a hard court indoors he would have shown his stuff. A Russian loss, especially to a non-tennis nation such as Israel, will constitute a major catastophe for Russian tennis.

Israel stands on the brink of a first-ever Davis Cup semifinal after Harel Levy and Dudi Sela delighted the home crowd with victories in their Davis Cup by BNP Paribas quarterfinal against Russia in Tel Aviv on Friday.

While Sela’s 36 61 60 75 victory over Mikhail Youzhny was not entirely unexpected given that the Israeli is currently ranked above the Russian, Levy overturned a gap of more than 200 ranking places in defeating Igor Andreev in the first rubber.

Levy, world ranked at 210, gave the hosts a surprise lead, beating Andreev 64 62 46 62.

Levy’s sweet hitting from the baseline, mainly with his forehand and the occasional rush to the net for some excellent volleying stunned Andreev, ranked almost 200 places above him. Indeed, the 30-year-old Levy attained a level of play not seen from him since he held his top ranking of 30 in 2001 and he appeared unable to put a foot wrong for two entire sets.

At the same time, 25-year-old Andreev looked surprised as Levy consistently ran him ragged across the baseline. The Israeli No. 2 came out in blazing form and with powerful hitting on both flanks mainly from the back of the court, he managed to break Andreev in the seventh game of the first set that was a major confidence booster for a player whom most pundits did not give a chance of winning before the start of play.

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