Rusedski overcomes Ivanisevic to reach semis

Greg Rusedski finally got one over Goran Ivanisevic to reach the semi-finals of the Heineken Open for the second year in succession with a 6-2 0-6 6-3 victory on Thursday.

Ivanisevic had beaten the Briton on nine previous occasions -- including at Wimbledon last year as the Croatian marched toward his first All England championship.

"I've had 15 match points against Goran in the past and always fell at the final hurdle," Rusedski said. "Mentally it is very draining, but I got there in the end today and I'm very pleased."

Rusedski won the first set after Ivanisevic had blown a couple of early break points -- in the second and fourth games.

"Greg was very nervous then and if I had won those games he would have been every more nervous and it might have ended differently," Ivanisevic said.

As it was, Rusedski recovered and broke Ivanisevic twice in that first set for the 6-2 win. But the second set was a nightmare for Rusedski as he lost it 0-6.

"I haven't lost 6-0 on the tour ever," he said. "So I've got a couple of firsts today -- a victory over Goran and a 0-6 set."

Rusedski went into the match at a disadvantage after having to complete his second round match in the morning, which was stopped by rain the night before.

Michal Tabara of the Czech Republic proved to be a hard nut to crack and Rusedski had to go to three sets before winning 5-7 7-5 6-4.

"I should have finished Tabara off in two sets, but he played very well. It was a tough mental test," said Rusedski, who lost in the Auckland semi-finals to Spaniard Francisco Clavet last year.

Rusedski's semi-final opponent on Friday will be another Czech player and former Auckland winner Jiri Novak.

Thursday's match against Ivanisevic had nine service breaks, and the Croatian acknowledged his serve was affected by a tear in a shoulder muscle which had been troubling him for some time and necessitated pain killers before the match.

"That was the worst service match I have every had," Ivanisevic said. "I served so badly, yet I almost won the match. It was a bad match, but he played better than me in the end.

"If I serve like that in Australia [at the Australian Open next week] I will be going home very quickly."

With Ivanisevic out and first seed Marat Safin beaten in the second round, the tournament has lost some of its shine. But Rusedski is a popular player and should have much support -- if not from Ivanisevic's legion of local Croatians.