The New Nation - Internet Edition

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Top seed Rafael Nadal reached the semi-finals of the Artois Championships for the first time with a hard-fought win over big-serving Ivo Karlovic.

Neither player could break serve before Nadal took a final set tie-break to win 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-4).

He will go on to face defending champion Andy Roddick, who had a walkover after Andy Murray withdrew.

Novak Djokovic was superb in beating Lleyton Hewitt 6-2 6-2 and next faces Richard Gasquet or David Nalbandian.

Nadal did well to see off 6ft 10in Karlovic, who fired down 35 aces and faced just two break points in three sets.

Indeed, Nadal was even more dominant on serve and did not face a single break point in the entire match.

"It was an amazing match, especially on fast surfaces Karlovic is very, very tough," the Spaniard told BBC Sport.

"Today I think I played very well, especially in the second and third set. I'm very happy to be in my first semi-final at Queen's.

"This is my best result before Wimbledon, my first semi-final and this tournament is very, very important to me.

"Roddick is another big, big server so I will go on court and try my best."

Djokovic had been widely expected to face a serious examination from four-time champion Hewitt but the Serb was totally dominant, winning in one hour 12 minutes.

"It felt good," Djokovic told BBC Sport.

"I didn't play so well and wasn't happy with my first two matches but making the transition from clay to grass takes time and I feel better and better.

"The preparations are great, I'm really happy I came here. I'm getting used to the conditions, the surface, the balls, and hopefully I can continue the run at Wimbledon."