Nadal Advances as Roddick Falls in Miami
Spain’s Rafael Nadal had a straight set 6-4, 6-4 win over Japan’s Kei Nishikori to reach the quarterfinals of the 2012 Sony Ericsson Tournament in Miami. This match was the toughest yet in the tournament for Nadal, after he took a medical timeout in the opening set for treatment of his left knee. Nadal lost in the 2011 finals in Miami to Novak Djokovic and they may meet again this coming Sunday. World number one-ranked Djokovic reached the final eight after taking down France’s Richard Gasquet in straight sets, 7-5, 6-3. Djokovic will next face the number five seed, Spain’s David Ferrer after Ferrer’s 6-3, 6-2 win over Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro, the number 11 seed.
Nadal has improved to an overall record of 16-3 for 2012, and seeks his first tournament title since the 2011 French Open. Nadal will next face the sixth-seeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga after his 6-3, 6-2 win over German Florian Mayer in just under an hour.
After upsetting world number three-ranked Roger Federer, American Andy Roddick was defeated by Juan Monaco in straight sets 5-7, 0-6. Monaco advances to face world number eight-ranked Mardy Fish of the U.S., a 6-3, 6-7, 6-3 winner over Nicolas Almagro of Spain.
Also advancing to the quarterfinals was the number four seed Andy Murray of Great Britain, a 6-3, 6-4 victor over the number 13 seed, Gilles Simon. Murray will face Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia, the number nine seed, who dispatched the remaining unseeded player in the men’s draw, Grigor Dimitrov, 7-6(3), 6-2.
