Djokovic dumped out in Madrid
Originally published on: 26/02/10 12:06
Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray all claimed straight-sets wins in their third-round matches but world number three Djokovic was sent crashing out 7-6 (7/4) 7-6 (7/5) by giant Croatian Karlovic.
The 6ft 10in Karlovic, seeded 14th in Madrid, used his height to great effect in the high-altitude conditions as he boomed down 20 aces in the match before claiming a deserved meeting with unseeded Frenchman Gilles Simon in the last eight
The Madrid Masters also bade farewell to defending champion David Nalbandian as the seventh seed was unable to overcome Argentinian compatriot and Davis Cup team-mate Juan Martin Del Potro this time around.
Del Potro, seeded nine, won the match 6-4 6-2 and will now face second seed Federer, who looked in impressive form as he progressed past 16th-seeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-4 6-1.
The Federer-Del Potro match is the only quarter-final that will be played between two seeds. In the other clashes, world number one Nadal will play Feliciano Lopez, fourth seed Murray meets Gael Monfils and 14th seed Karlovic faces Simon.
Nadal had pulled out of the doubles tournament on Wednesday as a precaution against a niggling injury but the Spanish ace did not appear to be too affected by that problem as he stormed to a 6-4 6-2 win over Richard Gasquet.
Lopez dumped out sixth seed David Ferrer – another member of Spain’s successful Davis Cup team – in the second round and he followed that up with a 6-4 6-4 triumph over 10th seed Stanislas Wawrinka on Thursday.
Like Nadal, Murray was also not 100% healthy against giant Croatian Marin Cilic but did not let a long-standing knee injury prevent him from winning 7-5 7-6 (7/2). The Scot will next meet Monfils, who like Lopez claimed the scalps of two seeds in getting to the quarter-final.
Monfils defeated 12th seed Fernando Gonzalez in the second round and followed that up with a 6-4 3-6 6-3 win over Andy Roddick, the eighth seed here. Frenchman Simon, meanwhile, beat qualifier Robby Ginepri 6-7 (6/8) 6-4 7-6 (8/6) in an epic encounter.
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