Nadal eased into the quarter-finals of the Pacific Life Open with a 6-1 6-1 victory over fellow Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero.
INDIAN WELLS: Second seed Rafael Nadal eased into the quarter-finals of the Pacific Life Open with a 6-1 6-1 victory over fellow Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero, also called Mosquito on account of his frail frame. The world number two, favourite for the title here after top seed Roger Federer’s surprise second round exit, was joined in the last eight by Andy Roddick, the third seeded American advancing with a 7-6 6-3 win over France’s Richard Gasquet. The Spaniard will next play Argentina’s Juan Iganacio Chela, a 6-4 6-4 winner over American Michael Russell.
Andy Roddick faces Croatian eighth seed Ivan Ljubicic, who overcame number 10 David Nalbandian 2-6 6-4 6-2. Nadal lost to the former French Open champion in their last meeting at the 2006 Cincinnati Masters, but he completely dominated proceedings on Tuesday, controlling the court with huge forehands and his relentless running down of every shot.
“I’m happy with my game right now,’’ Nadal said. ‘’I know Juan Carlos made more mistakes than usual but I played very well, without mistakes. I was so much better with the backhand today and my serve was very secure.’’ The two-times French Open champion has not won a title since his repeat triumph at Roland Garros last year, but with Federer out of the way, he stands a good chance of winning a first US Masters Series crown. Roddick dominated Gasquet with his serve, sending down 15 aces and never allowing his opponent a break point. He was also efficient at the net, winning 15 of 22 approaches.
“I thought he played really well in the first set, seemed like he was just taking even good returns, kind of winging them for winners every place,’’ Roddick said. “I don’t think you can do that in a tiebreaker as it is not a regular service game. So I was able to get through the breaker and use the momentum. The second set was probably my best tennis of the week so far.’’ Roddick has a 6-3 record against Ljubicic but he is not taking his next opponent lightly in his quest for a first title since last year’s Cincinnati Masters.
“It will be a tough one,’’ Roddick said of the big-serving Croat. "It’s just going to be a matter of who can get some chances to break. He’s going to serve well. This court is pretty good for him, because he likes to get a little bit of height on his ground strokes and his second serve kind of bounces off the court. However, I feel like I’m serving pretty well too, so it’s just a matter of who creates the better chances and takes them.’’
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