Karlovic knocks past Djokovic

Towering Croat Ivo Karlovic toppled third seed Novak Djokovic 7-6, 7-6 to make the quarter-finals of the Madrid Masters...

Towering Croat Ivo Karlovic toppled third seed Novak Djokovic 7-6, 7-6 to make the quarter-finals of the Madrid Masters on Thursday. The 14th seed will meet Frenchman Gilles Simon next after unsettling Djokovic with his booming serves. Both sets went to tiebreaks, which favoured Karlovic, who blasted 20 aces, to Djokovic8217;s eight.

On Friday, Roger Federer beat ninth-seeded Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina 6-3, 6-3 to reach the semi-finals, where he will face Andy Murray in a rematch of the US Open final. The second-seeded Federer used an effective slice serve on the fast indoor surface and was never broken. 8220;The slice goes nicely on this court, I felt good using it to counter Juan Martin8217;s height,8221; Federer said.

Federer also played serve-and-volley, chip and charge returns and clean passing shots against his 20-year-old opponent. Del Potro served 12 aces, including 11 in the first set, but couldn8217;t trouble Federer. 8220;He started serving great, many aces,8221; Federer said. 8220;That8217;s what makes him the good player he is. I had the ability to stay calm and use my slice well here in Madrid where conditions are very quick.8221;

Federer was helped by Del Potro8217;s four double-faults. 8216;Roger generates pressure just by being in front of you,8221; the Argentine said. 8220;I double-faulted on my serve in each set to lose the match. Roger gave nothing away and I wasn8217;t able to even take a set off him. He broke my rhythm all the time and took full advantage of his break points, which I wasn8217;t able to do, that8217;s the difference.8221;

Federer, who missed last week8217;s Stockholm Open due to fatigue, said he felt happy with his physical condition. 8220;I don8217;t know what would have happened if I8217;d gone to Stockholm, but I8217;m playing well here,8221; he said.

Federer8217;s semi-final opponent will be fourth-seeded Murray, who beat Gael Monfils of France 6-2, 6-2. 8220;I8217;ll have to come up with a proper game plan,8221; Federer said. 8220;He played well against Monfils, so I8217;ll have my hands full with him.8221;

Monfils broke Murray in the opening game, but the US Open finalist broke back immediately. Murray broke two more times to take the set. The second set followed the same pattern. 8220;He almost enjoys running too much and almost likes you to dictate play,8221; Murray said of his 22-year-old opponent. 8220;Once he gets used to big matches we8217;re going to be seeing a lot more of him.8221;

Nadal breezes

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Top seed Nadal booked his place by breezing past an out-of-sorts Richard Gasquet 6-4, 6-2. It was a much more convincing performance from the top seed, who had laboured through his opener against Ernests Gulbis on Tuesday, and he showed little sign of suffering from the muscle strain that forced him out of the doubles as a precaution. 8220;I am much better. I spent the afternoon with the physio yesterday and we8217;ll have to see how it goes,8221; said the Spaniard. 8220;Against 15th seed Gasquet I was much better than on my first day and he committed more errors than usual, particularly on his backhand.8221; Next for up for Nadal is compatriot Feliciano Lopez, who saw off Switzerland8217;s Stanislas Wawrinka 6-4, 6-4.

Bhupathi-Knowles in semi-finals

Fourth seeds Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles moved into the semi-finals of the Madrid Masters with a 6-3, 7-5 victory over Sweden8217;s Simon Aspelin and Julian Knowle of Austria. Next, they will take on fifth seeds Jonas Bjorkman and Kevin Ulyett, who were responsible for taking out the top-seeded duo of Bob and Mike Bryan.