Big guns advance to Madrid quarters
MADRID (AP) Defending champion Andy Murray, top-ranked Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer advanced to the quarterfinals of the Madrid Open on Thursday.
Andy Roddick advanced after Nikolay Davydenko withdrew with a leg injury. Roddick will next face Federer, who defeated James Blake 6-2, 6-4.
Murray stopped Tommy Robredo 7-5, 6-1, and Nadal moved up after Philipp Kohlschreiber also withdrew with a leg injury.
Third-seeded Novak Djokovic defeated Andreas Seppi 6-4, 6-4. He will play wild card Ivan Ljubicic, who rallied for a 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 win over 2008 finalist Gilles Simon.
The last time the Federer and Blake met at the Beijing Olympics, Blake ended the Swiss star's hopes of capturing his first Olympic singles medal.
"We haven't played since the Olympics and I was pleased with the way it went today, especially with him playing so well recently," Federer said.
The second-seeded Federer is looking forward to playing the sixth-seeded Roddick on a different surface.
"I've played Andy so many times, it's time we played each other on clay," Federer said.
Nadal will play Fernando Verdasco, who rallied from a break down in both sets to beat Juan Monaco 7-5, 6-2.
In the women's draw, top-ranked Dinara Safina overcame a mid-match dip, defeating Lucie Safarova 6-0, 4-6, 6-3 to advance to the quarterfinals.
Murray failed to convert seven break points before finally getting the decisive break to go up 6-5, and held serve to take the first set.
"I noticed that at this altitude the ball tends to fly faster, and because the court is sprayed with water regularly, the balls also tend to pick up weight," Murray said. "I strung my rackets more tightly to compensate and was happy to be able to control the ball in the wind."
Nalbandian update
BARCELONA , Spain (AP) Argentina's David Nalbandian has had surgery on his right hip and will be sidelined for four months.
The 15th-ranked Nalbandian underwent surgery in Barcelona on Wednesday. He will miss Argentina's Davis Cup quarterfinal in July, as well as the remaining Grand Slam tournaments — the French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.
The medical clinic that performed the operation says Nalbandian will stay in Barcelona until the end of the month before returning to Argentina to continue his recovery.
Nalbandian's last match was a 6-2, 6-2 loss to Chile's Paul Capdeville at last week's Estoril Open in Portugal.
Montcourt's ban cut
LAUSANNE , Switzerland (AP) French tennis player Mathieu Montcourt's suspension for betting on matches has been reduced from eight to five weeks.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport said Thursday the 24-year-old Montcourt bet a total of $192 on 36 different tennis events, though not on his own matches or at tournaments where he was playing.
The CAS panel cites "the small amounts gambled (and) the absence of influence of the bets on the matches in question."
MADRID (AP) Defending champion Andy Murray, top-ranked Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer advanced to the quarterfinals of the Madrid Open on Thursday.
Andy Roddick advanced after Nikolay Davydenko withdrew with a leg injury. Roddick will next face Federer, who defeated James Blake 6-2, 6-4.
Murray stopped Tommy Robredo 7-5, 6-1, and Nadal moved up after Philipp Kohlschreiber also withdrew with a leg injury.
Third-seeded Novak Djokovic defeated Andreas Seppi 6-4, 6-4. He will play wild card Ivan Ljubicic, who rallied for a 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 win over 2008 finalist Gilles Simon.
The last time the Federer and Blake met at the Beijing Olympics, Blake ended the Swiss star's hopes of capturing his first Olympic singles medal.
"We haven't played since the Olympics and I was pleased with the way it went today, especially with him playing so well recently," Federer said.
The second-seeded Federer is looking forward to playing the sixth-seeded Roddick on a different surface.
"I've played Andy so many times, it's time we played each other on clay," Federer said.
Nadal will play Fernando Verdasco, who rallied from a break down in both sets to beat Juan Monaco 7-5, 6-2.
In the women's draw, top-ranked Dinara Safina overcame a mid-match dip, defeating Lucie Safarova 6-0, 4-6, 6-3 to advance to the quarterfinals.
Murray failed to convert seven break points before finally getting the decisive break to go up 6-5, and held serve to take the first set.
"I noticed that at this altitude the ball tends to fly faster, and because the court is sprayed with water regularly, the balls also tend to pick up weight," Murray said. "I strung my rackets more tightly to compensate and was happy to be able to control the ball in the wind."
Nalbandian update
BARCELONA , Spain (AP) Argentina's David Nalbandian has had surgery on his right hip and will be sidelined for four months.
The 15th-ranked Nalbandian underwent surgery in Barcelona on Wednesday. He will miss Argentina's Davis Cup quarterfinal in July, as well as the remaining Grand Slam tournaments — the French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.
The medical clinic that performed the operation says Nalbandian will stay in Barcelona until the end of the month before returning to Argentina to continue his recovery.
Nalbandian's last match was a 6-2, 6-2 loss to Chile's Paul Capdeville at last week's Estoril Open in Portugal.
Montcourt's ban cut
LAUSANNE , Switzerland (AP) French tennis player Mathieu Montcourt's suspension for betting on matches has been reduced from eight to five weeks.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport said Thursday the 24-year-old Montcourt bet a total of $192 on 36 different tennis events, though not on his own matches or at tournaments where he was playing.
The CAS panel cites "the small amounts gambled (and) the absence of influence of the bets on the matches in question."