Madrid Masters (3rd Round)

Nadal & Federer Roll; Karlovic Stuns Djokovic

Rafael Nadal tightened his grip Thursday on the prestigious year-end No. 1 honors after beating Richard Gasquet 6-4, 6-2 to charge into the quarterfinals of the Mutua Madrilena Masters Madrid.

Playing his first tournament since he replaced Switzerland’s Roger Federer as World No. 1 on August 18, Nadal received the No. 1 South African Airways ATP Rankings trophy in front of a sell-out crowd Sunday. But he is yet to clinch the year-end No. 1 Ranking - something he can do this week by reaching the Madrid final.

Nadal, chasing a 13th ATP Masters Series shield, improved to a 6-0 career record against Gasquet and next will meet fellow Spaniard Feliciano Lopez, who earlier in the day upset 10th seed Stanislas Wawrinka


The 2005 Madrid champion is chasing his ninth ATP title of the year and if he beats Lopez will notch his 80th match win of the season, topping his previous-best 79-10 match record in 2005.

An aggressive Gasquet based his game plan around getting to net and attacking Nadal's second serve. He matched Nadal's winners (19 to 20) but made almost double the errors (20 to 12).

Nadal broke open the match early in the second set. In the second game, a net-rushing Gasquet appeared to have set up a break point when he clipped a forceful backhand volley wide to the ad court. But Nadal responded with a spectacular down-the-line forehand pass at full stretch for a winner.

Gasquet continued to charge the net in the third game but Nadal had the answers, breaking the Frenchman for a 2-1 lead. Nadal also broke Gasquet in the second-to-last game. During the match he saved all four break points on his own serve.

On his meeting with Lopez, Nadal said: "Feliciano is a very awkward opponent on all surfaces; he has got a great first and second serve and that stops you from playing comfortably. Besides, he approaches the net a lot when he is playing aggressively and he is very dangerous. Here at altitude, even though it is indoors and it doesn´t have that much of an effect, the court is fast. It´s going to be difficult to win."

Roger Federer, who also is playing his first tournament since the US Open (where he won a fifth consecutive title) set up a quarterfinal showdown with Juan Martin del Potro following a 6-4, 6-1 win over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Second-seeded Federer has reached the Madrid final the past two years, finishing runner-up to David Nalbandian last year and winning the title in 2006. Including a Davis Cup singles win, Federer is now on a 10-match dating back to the start of the US Open.

In a tight first set, Tsonga had two break points on the Federer serve but was unable to convert. The match went on serve until the 10th game, when the Frenchman double faulted on set point. Federer dropped just four points on serve in the second set as he raced to victory, helped by 23 winners and by winning 81 percent of points on his first serve throughout the match.

Federer said: "I don´t think Tsonga could show what he normally can, today, I couldn`t either because conditions are so quick that there are hardly any rallies if you serve well... so it´s hard to judge your own game."

Ivo Karlovic hammered 21 aces and won 89 percent of first-serve points in a 7-6(4), 7-6(5) upset win over ATP World No. 3 Novak Djokovic. Djokovic failed to convert three break point chances in the match.

In addition to his overwhelming serve Karlovic was often brilliant at net and on match point, with Djokovic serving, he charged the net after a brief baseline exchange and forced a forehand error.

The 6' 10" Croatian is currently 27th in the ATP 200 Race, but should he win the tournament he would rise close to the Top 10 of the Race and be within reach of a Tennis Masters Cup berth.