Top-ranked Federer, Djokovic, Nadal advance to Hamburg Masters quarterfinals
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HAMBURG, Germany: Rafael Nadal had no birthday gift for Andy Murray, beating the Briton in straight sets Thursday to join Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic in the Hamburg Masters quarterfinals.
Nadal won 6-3, 6-2 over Murray, who turned 21 on Thursday.
Federer breezed past Robin Soderling 6-3, 6-2. The defending champion is seeking his fifth title in Hamburg and next will play Fernando Verdasco, who upset fifth-seeded David Ferrer 7-6 (2), 6-2.
Third-seeded Novak Djokovic also advanced, beating Ivo Karlovic 7-6 (3), 6-3 to stay on course for consecutive titles after winning last week's Rome Masters. Djokovic could replace Nadal as No. 2 in the ATP tour rankings next week.
But fourth-seeded Nikolay Davydenko was upset 7-5, 6-3 by Nicolas Kiefer, who became the first German to reach the quarterfinals of the home tournament since Tommy Haas in 1999.
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Nadal was last year's runner-up in Hamburg, one of his two losses on clay in 107 matches since April 2005. The other was last week in Rome, when he lost in his opening match to Juan Carlos Ferrero while suffering from a painful blister on his right foot.
"It was much better than yesterday, I had much more confidence on court," said Nadal, who struggled to beat Potito Starace in the previous round. "It was a good match, I played very seriously."
Nadal received treatment for blisters on his left hand, but was already 4-1 in the second set against Murray. Nadal did not seem to be in discomfort, unlike Murray who did not have an answer to Nadal's power on clay. Murray ended the match with a meek forehand into the net, one of his 23 unforced errors. Nadal had only 11.
"His forehand, on clay, that's the best shot in tennis," Murray said. "Maybe I could have won a few more games, but he was much better. I was making too many mistakes and you don't get a second chance against someone as good as him."
Federer lost in Rome quarterfinals to Radek Stepanek but has looked very comfortable in his first two matches in Hamburg, one of his favorite events.
The tournament is a major warmup for the French Open later this month, the only Grand Slam title Federer has yet to win.
"I have no aches or pains, I feel very fit, very match tough," Federer said.
Federer has only one title so far this year, at a relatively small clay-court tournament last month in Estoril, Portugal. He has a 24-6 match record.
He had won all five previous matches against Soderling, but three of them were tight. There was nothing close Thursday, with Federer hitting 24 winners compared to 10 unforced errors. Soderling was nearly the exact reverse, hitting 12 winners for 23 unforced errors.
"I controlled things well from the baseline, I served well when I had to," Federer said. "He has a big serve but I retrieved it well and I scrambled well."
Verdasco, ranked No. 28, reached his second quarterfinal of the year after Valencia, where he lost to Ferrer in three sets.
Djokovic leads the tour with three titles this year, including the Australian Open, his first major. Apart from Rome, he also won the Masters Series event in Indian Wells.
Djokovic had never played Karlovic before and took some time to adjust to his big serve.
The 2.08-meter (6-foot-10) Karlovic led the tour last year in aces. He had 12 against Djokovic but also had 26 unforced errors.
"It's never easy to face break points and to play a tiebreaker against such a server," Djokovic said. "He has one of the toughest serves to return. I thought that I am have a better chance on clay but he serves well on clay, too. I nearly lost the first set."
Djokovic trailed 3-1 in the tiebreaker but then won six straight points. He had two good returns to set up three set points and took the first with a well-placed backhand to the corner. He crossed himself when he broke serve for a 4-2 lead in the second, which proved enough to win.
"I got lucky that I read his intention and I guessed which side he was going to serve," Djokovic said.
He will next play Albert Montanes, who rolled past Janko Tipsarevic 6-2, 6-1.
Andreas Seppi upset 12th-seeded Juan Monaco 6-0, 6-3 and No. 11 Carlos Moya outlasted Marat Safin, a two-time runner-up in Hamburg, 6-2, 6-7 (3), 6-1.
In his first quarterfinal match of the year, Kiefer will play Seppi while Nadal faces his mentor and friend Moya.
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