Madrid Open round-up: Nishikori eclipses Federer; Nadal marches into quarters

Kei Nishikori of Japan celebrates after winning his match against Roger Federer of Switzerland on day six of the Mutua Madrid Open at the Caja Magica on May 9, 2013 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Jasper Juinen/Getty Images)

The sun shone brilliantly on one side even as the clouds thickened over the other half. Japanese star Kei Nishikori threw Roger Federer’s clay court preparation into disarray with a spirited three set victory over the seasoned Swiss. The defending Madrid Masters champion burnt bright midway through the match, but Nishikori extinguished the flames with authority. The 14^th seeded Japanese prevailed in three sets 6-4, 1-6, 6-2 to avenge his defeat at the hands of the Swiss in Basel two seasons ago. The sensational upset left the tournament without its top two seeds – Novak Djokovic was knocked out by Grigor Dimitrov on Tuesday.

There was no such hiccup for Rafael Nadal. The King of Clay was more than a handful for the meagre challenge from Mikhail Youzhny. The Russian barely mustered five games in a two set rout that ended 6-2, 6-3 mainly because Nadal was afforded the luxury of being on autopilot for much of the contest. The 76-minute thumping took Nadal into the quarters of the Madrid Open for the eighth time in his career. The Spaniard though hasn’t won this tournament since taking a second Madrid title in 2010.

The Federer upset was a disaster that came without adequate warning. After a fluent start to the match, when Federer dealt in service winners to hold at love the first smell of trouble struck the Swiss when he overcooked his forehand cross court twice in a row to slip to 0-30. A backhand that sailed wide helped Nishikori take a 3-2 lead.

Nishikori’s surging confidence received a boost when he consolidated the break with a thundering forehand cross court winner. The Japanese had the set in the bag four games later, Federer helping an easy hold in the tenth game with a couple of backhand errors. The set lasted 33 minutes, creating a buzz of anticipation inside the packed Manolo Santana court.

Federer barely made an impact on the Nishikori serve in the first set. A forehand cross court winner from the defending champ forced deuce in the second game of the second set. But the Swiss failed to take advantage of a couple of break points. Nishikori completed a laboured hold when Federer made three straight errors off his elegant racket.

Federer’s intentions were underlined by a hold to love in the next game. The Swiss won seven points in a row to have Nishikori on the mat at 0-40 in the fourth game. The 16^th ranked player fought back to deuce, only to negate the good work with a couple of forehand errors. Federer finally had his first break of the match.

An aesthetic down the line gem off the Federer backhand forced the sixth game to deuce. Nishikori wilted under the pressure to succumb to a second break as the Swiss took a comfortable 5-1 lead. Federer worked his forehand effectively to hold at love and push the match into a decider. It was a 32 minute set that captured the essence of Federer’s brilliance, captivating both viewer and victim.

Federer had a window of opportunity at 15-30 on the Nishikori serve in the third game of the final set. But the diminutive Japanese player served bullets to shut the door. The Swiss was returning from a two month break and the effects showed up in the next game. Unseemly errors proved costly, as the Swiss surrendered a vital break to slip to 1-3.

Nishikori coasted from there, holding at love to take a commanding 5-2 lead. Serving to stay in the match, Federer sank a forehand in the net to offer match points to Nishikori at 15-40 in the eighth game. He repeated the error on the next point to hand Nishikori a deserved victory. The Japanese grew up admiring the great Swiss and the victory will be a treasured memory.

“I’m going to go back to the practice court, train hard, and make sure I don’t have these kinds of days anymore,” said the disappointed Federer. “I was lacking control from the baseline, and that pretty much carried through from start to finish. I’m pretty disappointed with my play.”

Federer trudges off after his match against Nishikori on day six of the Mutua Madrid Open at the Caja Magica on May 9, 2013 in Madrid, Spain. (Getty Images)

Nadal on the other hand marches on unaffected, posting another easy victory to reach the 55^th ATP World Tour 1000 event quarter-finals of his flourishing career. The Spaniard broke Youzhny five times to rout the Russian 6-2, 6-3 in an hour and 15 minutes of utterly dominant tennis. The Mallorcan is now two wins away from a seventh final in as many tournaments since his return to the tour in February.

His opponent in the quarters is compatriot David Ferrer. The world No.4 had his hands full dealing with the Tommy Haas, who has been doing a fine job of rolling back the years. Ferrer needed well over two hours to overcome Haas 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 to book his spot in the last eight. The quarterfinal is going to be an uphill climb for Ferrer. He has managed a solitary victory in fifteen meetings against Nadal on clay.

In the match of the night, for sheer excitement, Andy Murray showed remarkable resilience and desire to overturn a massive deficit against Gilles Simon. The Scot was down by a set and a break in the second, before working his way back into the match. Murray completed a scintillating 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(6) victory in nearly three hours, on a night when he was far from his best.

The match turned after a titanic 14-minute duel for the fourth game in the second set. It was an 18 point game that saw seven break points and went to deuce six times. Eventually Murray broke serve and got the set on even keel at 2-2. At the death, Simon saved as many as five match points – three to force the breaker and two more in the tie-break – but ran out of steam in the end to slump to an eleventh defeat in twelve matches against Murray.

In the quarters, Murray will play Tomas Berdych. The world No.6 was in trouble in the first set, when Kevin Anderson served for it twice, but somehow found a way out to force the tie-break. Berdych faced stiff resistance throughout the match before prevailing 7-6(5), 7-5 in just under two hours. The Czech was runner up last year to Federer. Berdych and Murray have a 4-4 career record, but the Czech has won both their matches on clay.

Rafael Nadal celebrates after winning his men’s singles third round tennis match against Mikhail Youzhny at the Madrid Masters on May 9, 2013. (Getty Images)

The other quarterfinal will feature a thrilling battle between Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Stanislas Wawrinka. The two had also met at the same stage in Monte-Carlo last month. The Frenchman needed three sets to end the resistance of Fernando Verdasco, who is battling to bring his career back on the rails. Tsonga came back strongly from a first set loss to clinch a spot in the last eight with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory over the Spaniard.

Wawrinka, the winner in Portugal last week, took down the Djokovic slayer Grigor Dimitrov 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 in a match that turned progressively lopsided. As does happen most happen, the Bulgarian disappointed by not wasting the massive victory over Djokovic. The other surprise package of the week, Pablo Andujar kept his wildcard alive without too much effort. The Spaniard was 5-5 against Daniel Gimeno-Traver, when the later was forced to retire with a leg abductor injury. Nishikori awaits him in the quarters.

Quarter-finals

[5] Rafael Nadal (ESP) v [4] David Ferrer (ESP)

[WC] Pablo Andujar (ESP) v [14] Kei Nishikori (JPN)

[3] Andy Murray (GBR) v [6] Tomas Berdych (CZE)

[15] Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI) v [7] Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA)