Nadal Moves Closer to 17th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 shield

World No. 3 Rafael Nadal appears nigh on unstoppable in his pursuit of a fifth title at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia and a record-equalling 17th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 shield. Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka played a high level of tennis that would have troubled most players, but was allowed just five games as Nadal raced to a 6-4, 6-1 victory Friday in the quarter-finals in Rome.

The Spaniard was held on serve until the 10th game of his clash with Wawrinka, when he engineered a way through the Swiss player’s defences to snatch a one-set lead. The second set was a more comfortable affair for Nadal, who broke serve in the second and sixth games to seal victory in 90 minutes. Nadal is unbroken in three matches this week, saving eight break points in total.

American Duo Ousts Federer-Allegro

Roger Federer failed in his bid to reach the doubles semi-finals of the Internazionali BNL d'Italia Friday as he and partner Yves Allegro were beaten by towering American duo John Isner and Sam Querrey 6-4, 6-4 at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 clay-court tennis tournament in Rome.

Isner and Querrey broke serve three times from five opportunities and saved two of the three break points they faced to defeat their Swiss opponents in 65 minutes. The Americans are through to their third ATP World Tour semi-final of the season; they went on to clinch their first title together in Memphis (d. Hutchins-Kerr).

For a place in the final Isner and Querrey will face South American pairing Pablo Cuevas and Juan Monaco.

Nadal Reaches Rome QF's

World No. 3 Rafael Nadal stayed on course for a fifth title at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia as he defeated Romanian Victor Hanescu 6-3, 6-2 on Thursday to reach the quarter-finals at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament in Rome.

Nadal capitalised on his fifth break point to go up 3-1 in the opening set, and cushioned his lead as he went two for two on his opportunities in the second set. Though Hanescu put pressure on Nadal’s serve towards the end of the match, the Spaniard fought off five break point chances before serving out the victory in one hour and 22 minutes.

Americans Oust Fourth Seeds

Americans John Isner and Sam Querrey teamed Thursday to defeat fourth seeds and 2004 champions Max Mirnyi and Mahesh Bhupathi 6-2, 6-7(5), 10-6 and reach the quarter-finals of the Internazionali BNL d'Italia, an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 clay-court tennis tournament in Rome.

Isner and Querrey did not face a break point throughout the 89-minute encounter and capitalised on two of the four opportunities they created. The Memphis champions go on to face Swiss pairing Yves Allegro and Roger Federer for a semi-final berth.

Djokovic Races into Third Round

Second seed Novak Djokovic, who captured the 2008 Internazionali BNL d'Italia title, required just one hour to beat Jeremy Chardy of France 6-1, 6-1 to become the first player into the third round at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 clay-court tennis tournament.

"The sooner you finish the happier you are," said Djokovic. "I've played in this tournament many times so you don't need many hours to get used to the court.

"Always in your first match [at] a tournament you don't know what to expect, especially [when you] play against a player with such a hard serve. It can be difficult but I was very focused right from the first moment.

"I think [my return] was one of the keys today. I knew he was going to serve well, so I needed to return well to be in control of the match."

Gulbis Upsets Federer For Biggest Win Of Career

Latvian Ermests Gulbis, the World No. 40, knocked out top seed and two-time runner-up Roger Federer of Switzerland 2-6, 6-1, 7-5 for a place in the Internazionali BNL d'Italia third round.

It is the first time since 2002 that Federer has lost before the quarter-finals in three straight ATP World Tour tournaments. In his past two tournaments, Federer has lost to Marcos Baghdatis in the BNP Paribas Open third round at Indian Wells and to Tomas Berdych at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami.

It also represents Federer's first opening-round loss at the Foro Italico, venue of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament, since 2002.

ATP Rankings - Men's Singles

1. Roger Federer (SUI)
Roger Federer is a Swiss tennis player whose amazing achievements helped rank him along the best tennis professionals of all time. As of today, Roger Federer is the world’s number 1 tennis player. Many tennis observers, including even many of his peers, believe that Federer can be the greatest tennis player ever.