DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, March 1 (UPI) -- Defending champion Rafael Nadal was upset Thursday in the quarterfinals of the $1.5 million Dubai Tennis Championships.
Nadal, seeded second in the event, was knocked out in straight sets by Mikhail Youzhny, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3. Youzhny, who won last week's tournament in The Netherlands, owns an eight-match winning streak.
But the longest current win streak belongs to world No. 1 Roger Federer who notched his 39th consecutive win in a 6-3, 6-7 (6-8), 6-3 decision over seventh-seeded Novak Djokovic. Federer has won the Dubai event three times in the last five years and was runner-up to Nadal last year.
In other quarterfinal play Thursday, fifth-seeded Tommy Haas, who owns a 10-match winning streak, ran past Olivier Rochus, 6-0, 6-2, and Robin Soderling got past Fabrice Santoro, 6-1, 6-7 (2-7), 6-0.
Friday's semifinals send Federer against Haas and Soderling versus Youzhny.
The tournament champion will collect $300,000.
