Ljubicic in Madrid Masters semis

Madrid, Spain: Croatian Ivan Ljubicic edged into the Madrid Masters semi-finals with a 7-6 6-7 7-6 victory over seventh seed Joachim Johansson of Sweden on Friday. Ljubicic will now play David Nalbandian after the Argentinian beat Taylor Dent 7-6 (7-4) 6-3. Ljubicic had the better of Johansson in the first set, securing the first set tiebreak 7-2 with a thundering ace. Johansson held on in the second set and entered the tiebreak on a roll. He went on to clinch that 7-1 and level the sets. But the pressure increased in the deciding set. Both held their nerves - and their serves - for a third tie break. Ljubicic went down 3-2 before creeping back into the lead. He was handed victory with a Johansson double fault. (AP)