Nalbandian out in Madrid

 

Originally published on: 26/02/10 12:05

Nalbandian beat leading trio Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer to win last year’s tournament but 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 Federer, who downed 16th seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France in straight sets to clinch a quarter-final spot.

In the first-ever meeting between the two players, world number two Federer proved too good for his younger opponent, beating the Australian Open finalist 6-4 6-1 in just over an hour.

The two quarter-final match-ups that have been completed will see top seed Nadal face Feliciano Lopez in another battle between Davis Cup team-mates, while world number four Murray will take on Frenchman Gael Monfils.

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.

Nadal’s next opponent Lopez continued his impressive run with a victory over 10th seed Stanislas Wawrinka earlier in the day.

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 Wawrinka.

Like Nadal, Murray was also not 100% healthy for his match against giant Croatian Marin Cilic, but he did not let his long-standing knee injury prevent him from winning 7-5 7-6 (7/2).

The Scotsman will next meet Monfils, who defeated 12th seed Fernando Gonzalez in the second round and he followed that up with a 6-4 3-6 6-3 win over Andy Roddick, the eighth seed here.

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