INDIAN WELLS, Mar 20 (AFP): Rafael Nadal eked out a victory over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga Wednesday, avenging an Australian Open defeat and reaching the quarter-finals of the Pacific Life Open.

Nadal, the men's defending champion and second seed at the 5.7 million-dollar WTA and ATP Masters Series event, defeated France's Tsonga 6-7 (4/7), 7-6 (7/3), 7-5, rallying from a 2-5 deficit in the third set to snatch the win.

Federer, in search of his first tournament title of 2008, punched his quarter-final ticket with relative ease, defeating Croatian Ivan Ljubicic 6-3, 6-4.

But the drama occurred earlier in the day as Tsonga tried to reprise his stunning semi-final win over Nadal at the Australian Open, where his runner-up finish catapulted him from 38th to 18th in the rankings.

Tsonga, now ranked 17th in the world, lost his only other meeting with Nadal, at the US Open last September. But he appeared poised for victory in the rubber match when he broke Nadal for a 4-2 lead in the third set, then held for 5-2.

But he was broken himself as he served for the match at 5-3, his deep forehand attempt missing wide on break point.

Two games later he dropped his serve again to hand Nadal a 6-5 lead, and the Spaniard duly served out the match.