Big three enter Madrid Open’s last-eight
In women’s competition, top seed Osaka shocked in quarters
DOMINANCE: Federer, Nadal and Djokovic all await their quarter-final opponents as the trio looks in form to fight for the clay title. PHOTO: AFP
MADRID:
Roger Federer saved two match points to defeat Gael Monfils and reach the Madrid Open quarter-finals on Thursday but women's world number one and top seed Naomi Osaka was dumped out in a last-eight shock.
Federer, playing only his second match of a 2019 comeback to clay after three years away, needed two hours to defeat French showman Monfils 6-0, 4-6, 7-6 (7/3).
Osaka fell for the second time in two months to Federer's Swiss compatriot Belinda Bencic, exiting 3-6, 6-2, 7-5. Bencic also beat the double Grand Slam winner in March at Indian Wells.
Czech second seed Petra Kvitova, the defending champion, was also a shock loser, going down 6-2, 6-3 to Kiki Bertens, the Dutch seventh seed who was runner-up in the 2018 final.
Men's top seed Novak Djokovic, however, motored into the last eight as he hammered Jeremy Chardy 6-1, 7-6 (7/2) while five-time champion Rafael Nadal dispatched Frances Tiafoe 6-3, 6-4.
Nadal will next play Stan Wawrinka after the Swiss completed a national hat-trick on the day, beating Japan's sixth seed Kei Nishikori 6-3, 7-6 (7/3).
Defending champion Alexander Zverev came from breaks down in both of the last two sets to get past error-prone Pole Hubert Hurkacz 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 and now plays eighth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, a 6-3, 6-4 winner against Fernando Verdasco.
Federer admitted he struggled to get past the talented Monfils, seeded 15th, before recording his 1,200th career win.
It took a comeback from 4-1 down in the final set after sweeping the first set in 18 minutes, combined with a dominating tiebreak for the Swiss fourth seed to advance.
Federer said nothing was decided until the end of a match played in difficult swirling winds and challenging conditions.
"I had a tough run of five losing games late in the second and into the third," said the 20-time Grand Slam champion who will face Austrian fifth seed and recent Barcelona champion Dominic Thiem for a place in the semi-finals. "I just hung in there, saving two match points (to force a final-set tiebreaker). It was a very stressful situation. Now that I'm through it, I'm very excited with the win.
"This match gave me a lot of information, it showed how tricky clay can be with the wind and everything. But I tried to take the bad bounces and the rest and just play positive tennis."
Against an inspired Bencic, Osaka served for the match in the third set leading 5-4, but could not touch a backhand return winner.
"When you play against a good player, you have to expect that they are going to play great at times," Osaka said.
Roger Federer saved two match points to defeat Gael Monfils and reach the Madrid Open quarter-finals on Thursday but women's world number one and top seed Naomi Osaka was dumped out in a last-eight shock.
Federer, playing only his second match of a 2019 comeback to clay after three years away, needed two hours to defeat French showman Monfils 6-0, 4-6, 7-6 (7/3).
Osaka fell for the second time in two months to Federer's Swiss compatriot Belinda Bencic, exiting 3-6, 6-2, 7-5. Bencic also beat the double Grand Slam winner in March at Indian Wells.
Czech second seed Petra Kvitova, the defending champion, was also a shock loser, going down 6-2, 6-3 to Kiki Bertens, the Dutch seventh seed who was runner-up in the 2018 final.
Men's top seed Novak Djokovic, however, motored into the last eight as he hammered Jeremy Chardy 6-1, 7-6 (7/2) while five-time champion Rafael Nadal dispatched Frances Tiafoe 6-3, 6-4.
Nadal will next play Stan Wawrinka after the Swiss completed a national hat-trick on the day, beating Japan's sixth seed Kei Nishikori 6-3, 7-6 (7/3).
Defending champion Alexander Zverev came from breaks down in both of the last two sets to get past error-prone Pole Hubert Hurkacz 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 and now plays eighth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, a 6-3, 6-4 winner against Fernando Verdasco.
Federer admitted he struggled to get past the talented Monfils, seeded 15th, before recording his 1,200th career win.
It took a comeback from 4-1 down in the final set after sweeping the first set in 18 minutes, combined with a dominating tiebreak for the Swiss fourth seed to advance.
Federer said nothing was decided until the end of a match played in difficult swirling winds and challenging conditions.
"I had a tough run of five losing games late in the second and into the third," said the 20-time Grand Slam champion who will face Austrian fifth seed and recent Barcelona champion Dominic Thiem for a place in the semi-finals. "I just hung in there, saving two match points (to force a final-set tiebreaker). It was a very stressful situation. Now that I'm through it, I'm very excited with the win.
"This match gave me a lot of information, it showed how tricky clay can be with the wind and everything. But I tried to take the bad bounces and the rest and just play positive tennis."
Against an inspired Bencic, Osaka served for the match in the third set leading 5-4, but could not touch a backhand return winner.
"When you play against a good player, you have to expect that they are going to play great at times," Osaka said.