Madrid Masters (Quarterfinals)

Rafa Ready To Clinch Year-end No. 1 Honor

ATP World No. 1 Rafael Nadal is ready to build on his historic 2008 season after winning his 80th match of the year to reach the Mutua Madrilena Masters Madrid semifinals. Nadal outclassed fellow Spaniard Feliciano Lopez 6-4, 6-4 to move within one victory of clinching the year-end No. 1 South African Airways ATP Ranking. Should he reach Sunday's final he is guaranteed to become the first Spaniard to earn that honor.

Nadal, the 2005 Madrid champion, is also seeking his 13th ATP Masters Series shield. At 22 years of age he is already third on the list of all-time Masters Series title leaders, trailing only Andre Agassi (17) and Federer (14).

Nadal saved both break points he faced against Lopez and won 76 percent of points on his second serve.


The five-time Grand Slam champion has won eight titles this year and his 80 match wins top his 79-10 record in his breakout season in 2005 when he won 11 titles, including his first Roland Garros crown and four ATP Masters Series titles.

Rafael Nadal won his ATP-best 80th match of the season on Friday in Madrid. He is the third player since 2000 to win at least 80 matches in a season.

80 Match Wins Club
W-L
2008 -- Rafael Nadal 80-9
2006 -- Roger Federer 92-5
2005 -- Roger Federer 81-4
2001 -- Lleyton Hewitt 80-18

Nadal is attempting to join Roger Federer as the only players in ATP Masters Series history (since 1990) to win four shields in the same year twice during their careers. So far this year he has won ATP Masters Series titles in Monte Carlo, Hamburg and Toronto (in addition to his Roland Garros, Wimbledon and Olympic titles.)

No other player has won four ATP Masters Series titles in a year even once during their career.

Nadal admitted that he had been troubled by shoulder pain during the match. "Yesterday during the match I did not feel anything but when I got back to the players room I started to feel the pain and when I woke up this morning it was tough. Before the match I cannot know how I will feel during the match."

Gutsy Frenchman Gilles Simon stared down 27 aces from 6' 10" Croatian Ivo Karlovic to book a semifinal showdown with Rafael Nadal in Madrid. Simon twice rallied from a break down in the first set and then overcame an early break in the third to take down Karlovic 7-6(1), 4-6, 7-6(2).

Karlovic earned one more break of serve than Simon and again volleyed with authority. But the Frenchman came up with a series of winning passes under pressure. Simon hit 26 winners and attacked Karlovic's second serve, limiting the Croatian to a winning percentage of just 35 on his second delivery.

Simon, who saved three match points against Robby Ginperi in the third round, now vaults to No. 10 in the ATP 2008 Race. The top eight players will earn a berth at the circuit-ending Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai, beginning November 9.

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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.

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Madrid Masters (3rd Round)

Murray, Del Potro Advance To QFs; Simon Saves 2 M.P.

Fourth seed Andy Murray (pictured) battled his way into the Mutua Madrilena Masters Madrid quarterfinals with a 7-5, 7-6(2) win over Marin Cilic of Croatia in one hour and 52 minutes on Thursday. The Scot, who is No. 4 in the ATP 2008 Race and has already qualified for Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai in November, improved to 44-14 on the season. He has won three ATP titles at Doha (d. Wawrinka), Marseille (d. Ancic), ATP Masters Series Cincinnati (d. Djokovic) and a runner-up finish at the US Open (l. to Federer) this year. New Haven titlist Cilic dropped to a 35-23 season record.

Murray conceded that he was somewhat troubled by a knee injury, but vowed to push through the discomfort as he attempts to win a second consecutive ATP Masters Series title. "I´ve had it a lot of times this year and I just have to try and find a way to get through. It´s not like I am doing myself a whole lot of extra damage, I just need to make sure that I deal with it properly after the match. As long as the pain is bearable I will try to play with it."



Murray next faces Gael Monfils, who withstood 13 aces and saved seven of eight break points faced to defeat eighth seed Andy Roddick 6-4, 3-6, 6-3. Roddick had faced just two break points till midway through the final set, but in the eighth game of the decider Monfils converted his first opportunity of the game to go ahead 5-3, and then served out the match.

The Frenchman has now won his past three encounters with Roddick and leads their career series 3-1. Monfils, who reached his first final of the year last week in Vienna, will attempt to reach his second ATP Masters Series semifinal (Roe, 2006). Before this week he had not won a match in two prior appearances in Madrid.

Monfils vs Murray head-to-head breakdown

Ninth seed Juan Martin del Potro moved to within one point of No. 7-placed David Ferrer of Spain in the ATP 2008 Race, after the Argentine beat seventh-seeded compatriot and defending champion David Nalbandian 6-4, 6-2 in 85 minutes. The 20-year-old del Potro clinched four straight titles at Stuttgart (d. Gasquet), Kitzbuhel (d. Melzer)—both on clay—then back-to-back hard-court crowns at Los Angeles (d. Roddick) and Washington (d. Troicki) before making a US Open quarterfinal exit (l. to Murray). Earlier this month he finished runner-up in Tokyo (l. to Berdych). By advancing to his first ATP Masters Series quarterfinal, del Potro improved to 41-10 on the season. Nalbandian, who has won Buenos Aires (d. Acasuso) and Stockholm (d. Soderling), dropped to a 35-13 mark.

DEUCE: On The Rise... Juan Martin del Potro

Frenchman Gilles Simon (pictured right) lived dangerously for a second time this week, as the Nice native saved two match points against American qualifier Robby Ginepri in a 6-7(6), 6-4, 7-6(6) victory. Simon, who squandered a match point while serving at 5-4 in the third set, saved two match points in the deciding tie-break. Ginepri, who was attempting to reach his first ATP Masters Series quarterfinals since 2006 Madrid, missed two opportunities at 6-4 and 6-5 in the tie-break. The 23-year-old Simon added 10 points to his ATP 2008 Race total to move two points clear of Fernando Gonzalez of Chile. Simon, who is now up to No. 11 in the ATP 2008 Race, improved to 43-22 on the season highlighted by three ATP titles at Casablanca (d Benneteau); Indianapolis (d Tursunov) and Bucharest (d Moya). Simon saved four match points against Russian Igor Andreev in a 4-6, 6-1, 7-6(7) first-round win on Monday.

Spaniard Feliciano Lopez reached the semifinals of his hometown event for the third time, after beating No. 10 seed and Tennis Masters Cup hopeful Stanislas Wawrinka 6-4, 6-4 in 74 minutes on Pista Central. The 27 year old, who reached the Dubai final (l. to Roddick) in February and reached the Vienna semifinals (l. to Petzschner) last week, improved to 22-23 on the season, while Wawrinka dropped to 38-19 on the season.

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Madrid Masters (2nd Round)

Federer Sets All-Time Prize Money Mark; Tsonga Advances

World No. 2 Roger Federer began his bid to reclaim the title at the Mutua Madrilena Masters Madrid by defeating Czech Radek Stepanek 6-3, 7-6(6) on Wednesday.

In doing so, Federer surpassed Pete Sampras as the all-time leader in career prize money in men's tennis. The Swiss, who earned 24,200 Euros ($32,428) for reaching the third round in Madrid, increased his career total to $43,300,847. Sampras earned $43,280,489 during his outstanding career.

Federer made a confident start to his second round opener, dropping just two points on serve in the first set. Stepanek saved the one break point chance of the ensuing set to force a tie-break, where the No. 2 seed delivered on his second match point to secure the straight-sets win in under 90 minutes.



"I thought I actually moved okay, I had a good spring in my step," said Federer. "You can always serve a bit better, but my feeling out there was positive and confident, which was a good thing to have in the first round, which tend to be tricky."

Federer, a winner of 14 ATP Masters Series shields, is looking to win his first of the 2008 season. He was a finalist at Monte Carlo and Hamburg during the clay court circuit, both times falling to Spaniard Rafael Nadal. He defeated Chilean Fernando Gonzalez to clinch the Madrid title in 2006, and finished runner-up to Argentine David Nalbandian last year.

The Swiss next faces a first-time meeting with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (pictured). The 16th-seeded Frenchman earned a hard fought 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(5) victory over Spanish qualifier Marcel Granollers. Tsonga said: "I maybe played exactly the same tennis (as in Australia). I won a tournament two weeks ago. I played well, like at the start of the year."

"Today, I had the match in my hands and I couldn't close it out," said Granollers, who had served for the match at 5-3 in the third set. "But we have to look at the positive side again and I think that even though I lost 7-6 in the third set, that gives me more confidence."

The 23-year-old Tsonga, who missed three months of the season with a knee injury, reached the Australian Open final in January (l. to Djokovic) and captured his maiden ATP title at Bangkok three weeks ago, avenging his defeat to the Serb in the final. The right-hander still has the chance to qualify for the Tennis Masters Cup, starting the week at No. 14 in the ATP 2008 Race with 255 points, 57 points down on No. 8 Juan Martin del Potro.

Federer said about the Frenchman: "He seems to be enjoying the tour; he's a great character for the game... I'm happy he won today so I get a chance to play him."

American No. 8 seed and five-time Tennis Masters Cup qualifier Andy Roddick fired 13 aces and converted on two of his three break point chances in his second round match to dispatch Spaniard Tommy Robredo 6-3, 6-4. Roddick will look to reach the Madrid quarterfinals for the first time in five event appearances when he next confronts Frenchman Gael Monfils.

The 26-year-old currently holds down the No. 6 spot in the ATP 2008 Race, and can overtake Russian Nikolay Davydendo in the standings by reaching the final this week. Roddick has won three titles this season at San Jose (d. Stepanek), Dubai (d. Lopez) and Beijing (d. Sela).

In a match featuring 35 aces and no breaks of serve, Croatian No. 14 seed Ivo Karlovic knocked out last week’s Stockholm finalist Robin Soderling 7-6(7), 7-6(8) in 1 hr., 49 min. Karlovic, who leads the ATP circuit with 889 aces in 50 matches this season, was a quarterfinalist in Madrid in 2005 (d. No 3 Roddick; l. to Nalbandian).

Karlovic next will face third seed Novak Djokovic, who progressed when Victor Hanescu retired with the Serb leading 6-7(8), 7-6(6), 3-1. Djokovic, who admitted difficulty finding rhythm in his return game against Hanescu, said: "This way is a good boost-up for my upcoming match, it could serve as good preparation for tomorrow's opponent who has an even bigger serve and is an even taller guy."

The 21-year-old Djokovic, who has won three titles this season including the Australian Open (d. Tsonga), was a semifinalist in Madrid last year (l. to Nalbandian) and reached the quarterfinals on his debut in 2006 (l. to Gonzalez).

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Madrid Masters (2nd Round)

Davydenko, Ferrer Slip Up; Nalbandian To Face Del Potro

Fifth seed Nikolay Davydenko saw his hopes of qualifying for Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai take a hit in Madrid on Wednesday as American qualifier Robby Ginepri, ranked No. 63, scored a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 second round win. It is the Russian's worst loss since falling to World No. 130 Gilles Muller in the US Open fourth round.

Davydenko started the week at No. 5 in the ATP 2008 Race with 417 points. With four qualification spots remaining, the 27-year-old is bidding to secure his place at the circuit finale for the fourth straight year.

Ginepri, who celebrated his 26th birthday last week, is through to the third round of an ATP Masters Series event for the first time since Paris in 2006 (l. to Berdych). The right-hander reached three consecutive ATP semifinals at Delray Beach (l. to Blake), San Jose (l. to Stepanek) and Las Vegas (l. to Anderson) earlier in the season and has a 24-17 match record.


For the second straight year in Madrid, World No. 5 David Ferrer suffered an upset in his opening match against fellow Spaniard Feliciano Lopez. The 40th-ranked Lopez converted his two break point chances to oust Ferrer, 6-4, 7-6(4) and improve to a 4-3 record against Top 10 players this season (17-34 lifetime). He next awaits the winner between top seed Rafael Nadal and No. 15 seed Richard Gasquet.

Ferrer had entered Madrid at No. 7 in the ATP 2008 Race, leading his nearest competitors in the standings – Juan Martin del Potro and James Blake – by less than 30 points. The 26-year-old Spaniard made his Tennis Masters Cup debut last year and reached the final (l. to Federer).

"Tennis is like that, sometimes you win and you don't know why and sometimes you feel you cannot win against anybody," said Ferrer, who has gone 6-7 since reaching his last ATP semifinal in July at Bastad. "Right now I don't feel like I am close to the best players."

Meanwhile, Shanghai contender Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland battled his way into the third round with a 3-6, 7-5, 7-6(5) win over German Philipp Kohlschreiber in two hours and 32 minutes. Wawrinka, who reached his first ATP Masters Series final in May at Rome, is No. 10 in the Race with 286 points.

Defending champion and this year’s seventh seed David Nalbandian (pictured above) of Argentina escaped a mid-match slip-up to prevail against Czech Tomas Berdych 6-2, 6-7(5) 6-1 and reach the third round.

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The Cordoba resident captured the title last year with three straight victories over No. 2 Rafael Nadal, No. 3 Novak Djokovic and No. 1 Roger Federer, becoming the third player since 1994 to defeat the world's top three players in consecutive matches. The 26-year-old, who was also a runner-up in 2004 (l. to Safin), improved to a 19-4 event record.

"I think it went well," said Nalbandian. "I played a good match. At the beginning of the second set, I lost control of ball and my timing was off. After that, I played at a great level. In general, I´m very happy with my performance today."

Nalbandian, who defeated Berdych at this stage last year, faces a similar road to the quarterfinals this week with ninth seed and Davis Cup team mate Juan Martin del Potro once again awaiting him in an all-Argentine third round clash.

Del Potro, who advanced when Jarkko Nieminen retired trailing 6-4, 4-2, reflected on last year's loss to the eventual champion: "He had a great level and my level was good too. But, my level is even better this year. It will be a difficult match, it's always difficult to play against him, but I have faith in myself and I'll try to do my best."

The 20-year-old del Potro strengthened his claim on one of the remaining four places at Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai. The Tandil resident, who has won four ATP titles this season, began the week at No. 8 in the ATP 2008 Race, with 312 points.

"[It's going to be] difficult," said Nalbandian of the match-up with del Potro. "He's been playing very well this year. He's demonstrated his potential, so I will be expecting a very hard match. One has to play their best in order to win."

Fernando Gonzalez missed a chance to make up some ground in the ATP 2008 Race as Frenchman Gael Monfils defeated the Chilean No. 12 seed in a 6-3, 6-4 victory. Bidding to qualify for Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai for the third time, Gonzalez began the week at No. 11 in the Race, just three points behind No. 10 Stanislas Wawrinka.

Monfils is enjoying a career-high South African Airways ATP Ranking of No. 18 after reaching the Vienna final last week, where he defeated Gonzalez in the quarterfinals before losing to Petzschner; he was also a semifinalist in Bangkok two weeks before (l. to Tsonga) and at Roland Garros in June (l. to Federer).

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