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The Honolulu Advertiser
Updated at 1:25 p.m., Thursday, March 20, 2008

Tennis: Djokovic, Ivanovic advance at Indian Wells

Associated Press

NDIAN WELLS, Calif. — Novak Djokovic and Ana Ivanovic, both 20-year-old Serbs who have joined the ranks of tennis' elite, won matches in straight sets today to move into the Pacific Life Open semifinals.

Australian Open champion Djokovic defeated Stanislas Wawrinka 7-6(5), 6-2 to advance in the men's tournament, and No. 2 Ivanovic beat Vera Zvonareva 6-1, 6-4 on the women's side.

Down 6-5 in the first set, Djokovic broke Wawrinka's serve to set up the tiebreaker. Then, when Wawrinka was unable to return his volley for the final point of the tiebreaker, Djokovic celebrated by dropping to his knees, yelling in glee and pounding his chest with both hands.

He went on to take took clear control of the match in the second set.

The 20-year-old Djokovic beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the Australian Open after upsetting No. 1 Roger Federer in the semis. It was Djokovic's first Grand Slam title and the first time since 2005 when someone other than Federer or Rafael Nadal had won a men's Grand Slam tournament. He currently is ranked No. 3 behind those two.

Ivanovic, the tournament's top seed, got off to a quick start against Zvonareva, taking just some 10 minutes to win the first four games against her Russian opponent.

Ivanovic, who lost to Maria Sharapova in the Australian Open final, made the semifinals at Indian Wells for the first time. She was eliminated by Elena Dementieva in the quarterfinals in 2006.