Croatian veteran Ivan Ljubicic ousted a weary world number two Novak Djokovic 7-5, 6-3 as defending champion Rafael Nadal booked his quarter-final berth at the BNP Paribas Open. While third-seeded Nadal advanced on Wednesday with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 triumph over big-serving American John Isner, Djokovic couldn't keep pace with the blistering serves and clean groundstrokes of Ljubicic, a former world number three now ranked 26th in the world. World number four Andy Murray secured his quarter-final slot with ease as Spain's Nicolas Almagro retired while trailing with an apparent left ankle injury.
Murray led 6-2, 1-0 when Almagro called it quits after receiving treatment on court at the end of the first set. Ljubicic said he was delighted to end a five-match skid against Djokovic, calling some of those defeats "brutal". "I'm really happy to be able to beat him finally," said Ljubicic, whose only prior win against Djokovic was their first meeting in Zagreb in 2006. His most recent defeats to the Serb had come in the first round of last year's US Open, and in the quarter-finals at Dubai last month. "My serve helped me, especially in difficult moments," said Ljubicic, who gave himself both of his match points in the final game with two of his 13 aces. Djokovic saved the first, but on the second Ljubicic came up with another big serve that the Serbian could only sail back across the baseline. "But also two weeks ago in Dubai I was serving unbelievably," Ljubicic said. "You can't beat Novak only with a serve, but it does help you a lot if you can get a lot of free points off that shot."

Djokovic said he knew what to expect. "I don't think any match we play is different," he said. "It's more or less based on the service and returns. As much as I get in the rallies, I think I have more chances to win the point. It wasn't the case today. "My execution was very bad and he played well when he needed to and he served well when he needed to," said Djokovic, who won his second straight Dubai Open title in February then won both of his matches to help Serbia beat the United States in the first round of the Davis Cup in Belgrade. Djokovic had looked far from sharp since arriving in the California desert, having to save three match points to subdue Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber in the third round.

"This is a tournament where I definitely didn't feel comfortable on the court," said Djokovic, the 2008 champion. "It's just because I had a very tiring couple of weeks coming from Davis Cup, which was emotionally very exhausting for me." The tournament has now lost its top two men's seeds, after world number one Roger Federer was stunned by Marcos Baghdatis in the third round on Tuesday. That left Spain's Nadal as the highest-ranked player to make it into the quarters as he withstood a barrage of 22 aces from the 24-year-old American Isner.

Nadal closed it out with a forehand winner into an open court. "I am feeling really well, and I am feeling good on court," said Nadal, who is playing his first tournament since retiring injured from the Australian Open. "I felt like I played pretty well," Isner said of his first outing against Nadal. "I might have run out of gas in the third set, but that's what he does. He makes you work so hard for every point." Nadal next faces Czech Tomas Berdych, a 6-1, 6-3 winner over Serbian Victor Troicki, while Ljubicic will take on Argentina's Juan Monaco, who beat Spain's Guillermo Garcia Lopez 3-6, 6-2, 6-1. Baghdatis, who saved three match points en route to his triumph over Federer, couldn't hold off Spain's Tommy Robredo, who notched a 7-5, 0-6, 6-4 victory to line up a meeting with seventh-seeded American Andy Roddick, who beat Austraia's Jurgen Melzer 7-6 (7/5), 6-4. Murray will play sixth-seeded Swede Robin Soderling, who beat France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-3, 6-4. Meanwhile women's fifth seed Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland booked a semi-final berth with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over fourth-seeded Russian Elena Dementieva.

Radwanska has reached her second semi-final of the season without dropping a set, and denied Dementieva a shot at a third title of 2010 - after triumphs in Sydney and the Paris Indoors.
Radwanska will play second-seeded Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark, who outlasted China's Zheng Jie 6-4, 4-6, 6-1.

David Beckham's ruptured Achilles may mean the 'end of the world' for him but it is by no means the end of England's dreams of World Cup triumph in South Africa later this year.When Beckham was at Manchester United and at the peak of his football powers, Old Trafford great George Best delivered a damning assessment of the midfielder's ability."He cannot kick with his left foot, he cannot head a ball, he cannot tackle and he doesn't score many goals," Best said. "Apart from that he's all right."Best's comments were widely dismissed as the words of an embittered former player yet they highlighted how the hype surrounding Beckham has often exceeded his deeds on the pitch.No-one can dispute the 34-year-old Beckham's efforts in trying to become the first England player to appear in four World Cups.He joined Italian giants AC Milan on loan from MLS side LA Galaxy in a bid to maintain match fitness in the run-up to the June start of the tournament.Indeed it was while playing for Milan on Sunday that Beckham suffered the injury that ended his hopes of playing in South Africa.But it is not as if Beckham's three previous appearances did much to end England's wait for a second World Cup title, which has been going on since the late Bobby Moore lifted the Jules Rimet trophy at Wembley back in 1966.In 1998, Beckham was sent-off for a petulant kick at Diego Simeone during England's quarter-final loss to Argentina, with many fans blaming his reckless act for the defeat.Four years later there were those who highlighted the way he jumped out of a tackle in the build-up to a goal scored by Brazil as being a key moment in another England quarter-final loss, this time against a 10-man Brazil side.The 2006 World Cup in Germany saw Beckham turn in some solid displays yet nowhere near the calibre of those produced by France's Zinedine Zidane or Italy's Fabio Cannavaro in inspiring their sides to World Cup glory.For all that England manager Fabio Capello has spoken warmly about Beckham's ability and positive influence on the rest of the squad, the former captain has largely been reduced to a substitute role during the Italian's time in charge.His free-kick ability remains intact but it is a long time since Beckham had a major influence upon a major match.It may seem harsh on Beckham, but few sides have won Word Cups on the basis of an ageing (he will be 35 when the World Cup starts) dead ball specialist.On the other hand, were England to lose star striker Wayne Rooney in the run-up, that would all but scupper their World Cup hopes.Much of the publicity that surrounds Beckham is not of the player's making.But his global celebrity, which seems to be something his wife, the former pop star Victoria Adams, enjoys more than her husband, has frequently proved an unwanted distraction to England, notably at the 2006 World Cup where the antics of the WAGs (Wives and Girlfriends) of players captivated the press.Beckham's absence may also embolden his rivals for the right hand side midfield berth, with the likes of the much quicker Aaron Lennon and Shaun Wright-Phillips no longer having to look over their shoulder. England have not won a World Cup with Beckham, a player who has given loyal service during a 115 cap career, 58 as captain, that has yielded 17 goals. They may win one without him but, either way, the days when England's fortunes were dependent upon Beckham have passed.

Wayne Rooney fired Manchester United back to the top of the Premier League as his double-strike inspired a 3-0 win over Fulham on Sunday.
Sir Alex Ferguson's team had been knocked off top spot by Chelsea's victory against West Ham on Saturday, but Rooney struck 30 seconds after half-time at Old Trafford and added a second in the closing stages.
Dimitar Berbatov headed United's third goal in the last minute to ensure the champions moved two points clear of the Blues and third placed Arsenal. United had lost 3-0 at Fulham earlier this season but Rooney, who has now scored 16 goals in his last 11 United appearances, broke their resistance when he met Nani's cross with a first-time finish that flashed past Mark Schwarzer from 10 yards out.
England forward Rooney put the result beyond doubt when he swept in Berbatov's 84th minute cross to take his goal tally for the season to 32 in all competitions. Berbatov sealed the rout with a diving header from South Korea winger Park Ji-Sung's 89th minute cross. Manchester City will aim to keep their challenge for fourth place on course at Sunderland in Sunday's late game.