The local fans were pleased to see popular Lindsay Davenport ensure that she will be back in the Pacific Life Open women?s final. Less fortunate were the American men who took to the court in quarterfinal play, Andy Roddick and James Blake.

And after seeing surprise semifinalist Irakli Labadze in action, we can assure our readers that the tradition of zany tennis-playing lefties will not die when Goran Ivanisevic retires.

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Tim Henman (9) def. Andy Roddick (3), 6-7 (6-8), 7-6 (7-1), 6-3
Quarterfinal
Previous head-to-head: Henman leads 2-1

Neither Andy Roddick nor Tim Henman (pictured at right) had lost a set in their first three matches, so this showdown between in-form players was eagerly anticipated. The match definitely lived up to its billing. Henman?s returning and volleying were superb, and his forehand came back just in time from a walk on the wild side, allowing Henman to save a match point in the second set and finally subdue Roddick in a close and entertaining affair.

Henman picked up an early break in the first set, only to see Roddick return the favour at 4-2. Neither man was serving well, in the 40% range in terms of first serve percentage for most of the set, and a tie-break was ultimately called for.

As he did in the set, Henman took the lead in the tie-break, taking a mini-break and a 4-2 lead on a point in which Roddick forced the Englishman to hit three volleys to win. But Henman gave back the mini-break at 4-3 with a poor error off his less reliable forehand side. Roddick had a set point on Henman?s serve at 5-6, but lost it when his forehand pass barely failed to clear the net.

At 6-6, another wobbly Henman forehand blunder gave Roddick a second set point, this time on his own serve. For the second point in this tie-break Roddick played a second-serve serve-volley point, and the strategy paid off. Roddick picked off Henman?s backhand pass and angled a flawless forehand volley to take the first set in an 8-6 tie-break.

The second set started much as the first had. Henman broke on an exceptional backhand passing shot hit off his back foot at 2-2, 30-40. Even Roddick had to applaud that one. However, Henman again lost the advantage. Serving at 4-3, 40-30, Henman failed to put away a forehand, babying it right back at Andy, who finally won a nose-to-nose exchange at the net. A costly mistake, since Henman lost this game on another forehand error, a routine mid-court ball.

With Henman serving at 5-6, 30-30, things again got tense for the man from Oxford. Roddick?s powerful baseline drives sent Henman scrambling, and the flamboyant American moved forward to convert an easy volley. Match point Roddick! Henman sees off the danger with a strong serve out wide, although Roddick?s mis-hit return nearly floated onto the line. Henman delivered two more winning serves to force another tie-break.

It was a tie-break that Henman required in order to force a third set, and he won it easily. This was mainly due to the fact that the hard-serving Roddick, of all people, lost all of his service points. On the first point the double faulted. At 1-2 a strong Roddick serve forced a weak return, but Roddick pulled an easy forehand beyond the sideline. Then at 1-3, an acrobatic stretch volley by Henman forced Roddick to hit a second passing shot, which he drove into the net. Roddick looked ready to slam his r acquet, but pulled back at the last second. At 1-6 Roddick pulled a backhand pass wide, giving the tie-break to Henman, 7-1, and the tense match is now level.

By now Henman seemed to be reading Roddick?s potent serve better, and was making the American work hard on his service games. In his press conference, Andy gave generous praise to his opponent?s return game. ?He has insane control of his racquet head where he can take a 130 mph serve and almost just swing that much,? said Roddick holding his hands two feet apart, ?and poke it deep.? Moreover, Henman would often return-volley off Roddick?s second serves, placing Andy?s still suspect backhand under attack.

Henman?s pressure paid off in the third set. ?Gentleman Tim? earned a break point at 2-3, but "A-Rod" served his way out of trouble with, incredibly, a serve to the wide side that was clocked at 135 mph! Then at 3-4, Roddick found himself down 0-40 after some splendid Henman returns, including a forehand crosscourt return winner off a first serve. Roddick saved two break points, but at 30-40 perhaps cost himself the match by somehow contriving to pull a routine overhead wide of the sideline. The pro-Roddick crowd gasped in disbelief, and Henman readied himself to serve for the match.

Henman showed no sign of nerves in the final game, and on his second match point finished it brilliantly, finding a beautiful crosscourt angle with that nightmare of earlier in the match, his now-steady forehand.

Roddick vented his frustration after the match, when, after signing some autographs, he made sure he was in the tunnel leading to the locker room out of camera range, and shattered his racquet against the ground.

This was an excellent win for Henman over a former number one and the pride of American tennis. ?It?s very pleasing,? said the understated Englishman. Henman talked at length about his new-found calm when he finds himself in difficult matches such as today?s. ?In years gone by,? explained Henman, ?I felt that sometimes when I was in the negative position, I almost told myself to try harder.? Now, he explained, ?if things aren?t going well, then I try to relax and know that I?m going to give it my best.?

As Roddick commented in his press conference, Henman surprised him by deviating from his usual serve-volley style, instead choosing to come in behind approach shots. ?His shot that he hit great today when I was returning is that he?d stay back, kind of bully it to one of the corners, then come in. He wasn?t going to play pure serve and volley all the time... He?s not predictable at all.?

Roddick says he feels he is trying to get back to the level he showed last summer in his run to the U.S. Open title, but is frustrated this year by losing a number of close matches such as today?s. ?I?m pissed off, I?m disappointed,? he admitted. ?I feel like I?m really on the verge of playing really good ball. It?s just, you know, losing matches like today, where I feel like I have a chance, maybe just not getting to the next step.?

By reaching the semifinals, Henman, who had won the final Masters Series of 2003 in Paris, kept alive his hope of winning two Masters Series events in a row. His semifinal opponent tomorrow will be the revelation of the tournament, the colourful Georgian lefty Irakli Labadze. Today Labadze added the name of James Blake to an impressive list of Indian Wells victims that includes Carlos Moya, by coming back to win, 6-7 (1-7), 6-4, 6-1.

Labadze is not travelling with a coach. He is accompanied here by longtime friend Beka Sikharulidze, a Georgian who lives in Los Angeles. Labadze has also added an interesting member to his support group, recently retired tour bad boy Jeff Tarango. ?He?s just a good friend,? explained Labadze. ?Last three weeks also he was helping me out? He really gave me some good tips.? Tarango was seated with Labadze?s support group during today?s match.

Trust me, this Georgian is a character. After the first set tie-break he kicked a ball into the seats, and was given a code violation warning by umpire Enric Molina. Labadze said he was unhappy because Molina didn?t call a let when a ballboy started running to his position while Labadze was already into his ball toss. So he went to Molina, climbed up the steps of his umpire?s chair, and grabbed Molina?s microphone. ?I wanted to say, ?Code violation to you!??

There was only one problem that ruined Labadze?s gag. ?He turned the microphone off. Can you believe this?? Molina took the jest in stride and laughed heartily, apparently not minding being given a code violation by a player. ?The difference between my code violation and his code violation,? joked Labadze, ?is that we get fined, he don?t get fined.?

Labadze is known for his on-court antics. ?I think people like it,? he said. ?It?s not just you go and play three sets like a robot. You want to enjoy and you want to make people enjoy.?

When asked to preview tomorrow?s semifinal against Henman, Labadze was characteristically witty. ?No, I don?t know much about his game, no. I know he?s playing serve and volley, that?s all. But you all know this too."

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Lindsay Davenport (3) def. Nathalie Dechy (19), 6-2, 7-6 (7-4)
Semifinal
Previous head-to-head: Davenport leads 3-0

Two-time Indian Wells champion Lindsay Davenport (pictured at right) earned a return visit to the final, fighting off a determined comeback by Nathalie Dechy in the first of two women?s semi-finals contested at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden today.

Dechy?s game is all about placement and angles, not power. Unfortunately for the slender Frenchwoman, Davenport was hitting with considerable force as well as precision right from the opening ball. In the first five games the Frenchwoman never had a chance to work the points as she likes to do. ?I have trouble to get into the match,? commented Dechy, ?but more because of her and her pace.?

After bashing her way almost unopposed to a 5-0 lead, Davenport played her first sloppy game, making sluggish errors at the baseline and allowing Dechy to get on the scoreboard. Dechy started finding some winners with her backhand, and was finally adjusting to the hot pace of Davenport?s hitting. ?The match really started at that time,? Dechy noted.

Dechy climbed back to 5-2, 0-30 on Davenport?s serve. That was as close as she got in the first set, as Davenport found the range with the forehand again to claim a 6-2 lead.

In the second set, Dechy was clearly more confident, and was fighting Davenport on even terms and moving her taller but slower opponent around the court.

Dechy got tantalizingly close to forcing a third set twice on Davenport?s serve, but Lindsay closed the door each time. Dechy was two points from the set at 4-5, 15-30, but Davenport answered with three straight aces. ?Each time, she served unbelievable,? marvelled Dechy. Then Dechy obtained three set points on Davenport?s serve at 5-6, 0-40. Her best chance was on the first set point, when for once she had a second serve to look at. But Nathalie sent her return long. ?I took my chance,? said Dechy. ?Miss ed by just a little.? Davenport staved off the next two set points with a backhand winner and service winner, and went on to force a tie-break.

In the tie-break Dechy was unable to take care of her service points as Davenport played an aggressive return game. Dechy lost her first four service points, and Davenport led 6-2 with quadruple match point. Dechy said the problem, more than anything, was playing the first six points of the tie-break into the wind. Davenport?s heavy drives felt even heavier to Dechy when they were wind-aided. ?I start the tie-break into the wind, so that was kind of hard,? said Dechy. ?We were kind of even on the other si de.?

Davenport needed three match points to finish the job, but finally sealed the win, and a reservation for her fifth Indian Wells final, with a 105 mph ace, much to the delight of her home state crowd.

Davenport said she was able to survive the second set by finishing the match the way she had started it, i.e., aggressively. ?Down some break points, I hit some aces. Then I really felt from that point on I was stepping into the court more, being able to dictate the points.?

Lindsay?s opponent in Sunday?s final will be a first-time Pacific Life Open finalist, world number one Justine Henin-Hardenne. Henin?s semifinal opponent was Anastasia Myskina, who had beaten Henin twice in the past and usually plays the Belgian tough. Such was not the case this evening, however. Henin romped to a 6-1, 6-1 win in 53 minutes.

The lop-sided score said more about Myskina?s desultory showing than about any particular brilliance on Justine?s part. Myskina committed 23 unforced errors while striking only 5 winners, and just 40% of her first serves landed in play.

Myskina had confessed earlier this week that a heavy schedule has left her with a sore shoulder. Indeed, we noticed in her practice session this afternoon that she looked uncomfortable, occasionally reaching to grab her shoulder. Anastasia says she will cut back on her schedule after the upcoming Nasdaq-100 Open in Miami. She will take almost a month off before returning for the Fed Cup tie between Russia and Australia, April 24 and 25.

Davenport and Henin were by far the most impressive players in the women?s draw, so it is a logical final and promises to be a close, high-quality affair. When pressed for a prediction, Myskina refused to commit herself. ?It?s going to be good final, for sure. Lindsay play really well, and Justine play well, so they both want to win, definitely. Lindsay play at home, so I think it?s going to be really good final.?

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Doubles! Doubles!

Unseeded Zimbabweans Wayne Black/Kevin Ullyett scored a 6-4, 6-4 upset win over the second seeded pair, Mahesh Bhupathi/Max Mirni, in one of the men?s doubles semis today. Their opponents in the final will be another unseeded pair, the mighty mites from France, Arnaud Clément/Sébastien Grosjean. The talented Frenchmen put on a brilliant shotmaking show in their 6-1, 2-6, 6-1 win over defending champions Mark Knowles/Daniel Nestor.

Shortly after her drubbing at the hands of Henin, the weary Myskina took herself out to court 2 for a late evening women?s doubles semifinal, partnering Vera Zvonareva against another Russian pair, Svetlana Kuznetsova/Elena Likhovtseva. Myskina?s doubles outing was about as successful as her singles match, as Kuznetsova/Likhovtseva swept to a 6-2, 6-0 triumph. Their opponents in tomorrow?s final will be the world?s top team, Virginia Ruano Pascual/Paola Suarez.

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Quotable quotes

More snippets from the entertaining Irakli Labadze press conference:

- When told he has already won $106,240, by far his biggest payday ever: ?Man, I?m going to buy a car (clapping his hands excitedly).?

- When asked if he was on the Georgian Davis Cup squad: ?Yeah, I think so. I was yesterday.?

- When asked if he knows Goran Ivanisevic, whom he resembled both physically and personality-wise: ?Yeah, I met him two years ago in Miami. He told me I can play good tennis, good player? He?s one of my favourite players because he?s also crazy on the court a little bit.?