Nadal Reaches Quarter-Finals In Style

Croatian veteran Ivan Ljubicic ousted a weary world number two Novak Djokovic 7-5, 6-3 as defending champion Rafael Nadal booked his quarter-final berth at the BNP Paribas Open.

While third-seeded Nadal advanced on Wednesday with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 triumph over big-serving American John Isner, Djokovic couldn’t keep pace with the blistering serves and clean groundstrokes of Ljubicic, a former world number 3 now ranked 26th in the world.

World number four Andy Murray secured his quarter-final slot with ease as Spain’s Nicolas Almagro retired while trailing with an apparent left ankle injury. Murray led 6-2, 1-0 when Almagro called it quits after receiving treatment on court at the end of the first set.

The tournament has now lost its top two men’s seeds, after world number one Roger Federer was stunned by Marcos Baghdatis in the third round on Tuesday. That left Spain’s Nadal as the highest-ranked player to make it into the quarters as he withstood a barrage of 22 aces from the 24-year-old American Isner.