Career Revival Day, male tennis division, intersected quite nicely with the Pacific Life Open at Indian Wells.
But there was one distinct problem Wednesday . . . way too many options. Everywhere you turned there seemed to be someone getting off the ground, pulling a tennis career back from the abyss.
Door No. 1: Tommy Haas. Haas might as well be a baseball pitcher, having had his third shoulder surgery late last year. He beat Andy Roddick here and took another big step forward, defeating No. 11 Andy Murray, 2-6, 7-5, 6-3, in the fourth round.
"In some ways you have to look at that and be pretty proud of it," said Haas, who lost to Murray in a third-set tiebreaker here last year in the quarterfinals. "I mean, it's incredible . . . playing a great week until now and hopefully more. It's worth going through a lot of pain."
Door No. 2: Mardy Fish. Fish made his first Indian Wells quarterfinal in dramatic fashion, beating Lleyton Hewitt, 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (4). Fortunately, for Fish, he had a conversation here with his coach Kelly Jones about his shortcomings in tiebreakers.
"I hadn't won a tiebreaker the entire year, practice or match," Fish said. "I knew that, and we actually sat down and had a conversation about it. You know, 'Why do you think this? Why do you think it's like this?' "
Door No. 3: Rafael Nadal.
OK, the third choice is a joke, or a huge leap in logic. But the second-seeded and defending champion Nadal, who has not won a title in 2008, did get off the ground.
Then again, he was the one who dropped to his knees in open glee and relief after avenging his Australian Open semifinal loss to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, winning their compelling fourth-round match, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (3), 7-5.
He rallied from a 2-5 third-set deficit, taking the final five games and winning the final six points of the match, which lasted just more than three hours.
Nadal, so lost in Melbourne, found his game in the desert.
"The victory is important for me, but the victory like this is always special and gives me confidence," said Nadal, who will play James Blake in the quarterfinals. Blake beat Richard Gasquet for the first time in three matches, winning, 6-4, 6-2.
As for the Nadal match, Tsonga assisted in the effort too, mentally unraveling in the third and said later it "was not exactly the same Jo on the court."
Like Nadal, the rematch held special significance for Tsonga.
