Madrid, Spain (Sports Network) - Fernando Verdasco stunned Rafael Nadal in an all-Spanish third-round affair, while Roger Federer was an easy winner Thursday at the $4 million Madrid Open, an ATP World Tour 1000 Masters event.
Meanwhile, the third-seeded Federer blitzed 14th-seeded Frenchman Richard Gasquet 6-3, 6-2 in a mere 58 minutes. The sublime Swiss swatted 10 aces and was not broken on Day 5.
The two-time Madrid champion and two-time runner-up Federer is playing his first clay-court tennis of the year this week. The 30-year-old all-time great would overtake Nadal for the world No. 2 ranking with a title this weekend.
Federer's quarterfinal opponent will be dangerous fifth seed David Ferrer, who went the distance to outlast 11th-seeded fellow Spanish clay-court stalwart Nicolas Almagro, 7-6 (7-5), 3-6, 7-6 (10-8). Ferrer needed 2 hours, 53 minutes to stave off Almagro, as both players smacked 13 aces in an entertaining outing.
Ferrer was the recent Barcelona runner-up to Nadal.
Federer is 12-0 lifetime against Ferrer, including a semifinal win here in Madrid two years ago.
canada.com
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