The Tennis Scoop

Andy Murray remains hopeful that the back injury which has plagued him all year will subside in time for the second grand slam of 2012.

Murray's French Open preparations were dealt a blow on Thursday when he lost in the third round of the Internazionali BNL d'Italia to Richard Gasquet. Last week, Murray was forced to withdraw from the Madrid Open with concerns over his back, and he revealed the same problem has hampered his fitness since before this year's Australian Open.

"My back was a little bit sore towards the end (of the Gasquet match), but I was expecting that coming into the tournament," Murray said. "I don't really want to go into detail of what it is and what treatment I've had done, but I've had it a while, since December. Obviously since then there hasn't been that much time to take an extended break.

"You try to take one at the right moment. With the French Open, Wimbledon, Olympics and US Open there's not much time to take a rest. Obviously now is the best time to do it, so hopefully by the time the French Open comes around I'll be in peak condition. That's the goal."

After suffering disappointing defeats to Tomas Berdych and Milos Raonic this clay-court season, Murray now intends to fly to Paris immediately to finalise his preparations at Roland Garros. Murray will be aiming to go one step further than his semi-final appearance of 2011 when the French Open commences on May 27.

© ESPN EMEA Ltd

© AFP/Getty ImagesRafael Nadal faces Tomas Berdych in the quarter-finals.

FRIDAY PREVIEW - BIG THREE TAKE CENTRE STAGE AGAIN AT FORO ITALICO

• The Top 3 players on the ATP World Tour are featured again on Centrale on quarter-final Friday. Overall, six of the top seven seeds are remaining along with the top Italian player, who is unseeded.This is the 16th time in the past 17 years (except last year) at least two Spaniards are in the quarter-finals. It’s also the first time since 1986 two Frenchmen (Leconte, Noah) are in the quarters.

• First up is No. 2 seed Rafael Nadal, who takes an 11-3 career record against No. 7 seed Tomas Berdych. Nadal has beaten Berdych 10 times in a row (including two straight-set wins on clay) after the Czech Republic native won three of the first four meetings. Berdych is trying to reach his first semi-final here (he was also a quarter-finalist in 2007 and last year). Nadal has won this tournament in five of his seven previous appearances and with straight-set wins in his first two matches (holding serve all 17 games), has improved his record here to an impressive 33-2.

• Next on is World No. 1 Novak Djokovic against No. 5 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who comes in with a 5-4 head-to-head mark. This is a first-time meeting on clay. The Frenchman does have two career wins over reigning World No. 1s (Federer in Montreal in 2009 and Nadal at Queen’s Club in 2010). Tsonga, who reached the quarter-finals here two years ago, is looking to advance to the semi-finals for the first time in an ATP Masters 1f000 event on clay.  Rome has always been a good venue for Djokovic, as this is one of four ATP Masters 1000 tournaments he has won multiple times, in 2008 and last year (and the only one on clay - the other three, Indian Wells, Miami and Canada, are all on hard courts).

• At night, No. 3 seed and World No. 2 Roger Federer brings an 8-0 mark (17-1 in sets) against top Italian Andreas Seppi, who is the only unseeded player left. Federer has been on an amazing run since last year’s US Open, going 47-3 (and in his first tournament of the clay court season last week he earned his third Madrid title, including his record-tying 20th ATP Masters 1000 crown). He’s now back at No. 2 for the first time since the week of March 14, 2011. Seppi, who never advanced past the second round in Rome in seven previous appearances, is the first Italian to reach the quarters since Filippo Volandri was a semi-finalist five years ago. Seppi has posted a Top 10 (No. 10 Isner) and Top 20 win (No. 20 Wawrinka) in his last two matches and is trying to reach his first ATP Masters 1000 SF.

• On SuperTennis Arena, No. 6 seed and 2010 runner-up David Ferrer takes a 6-1 advantage (winning past three meetings in straight sets) against No. 16 seed Richard Gasquet, who is making his first quarter-final showing in Rome. The Frenchman is the only player left who has not won a title this year.

* Quarter-finalists Breakdown – In Draw Order
2012     Titles           2012     Titles  

ATP Rank W-L (on clay)   2012 / Career ATP Rank    W-L (on clay) 2012 / Career
1     Djokovic 28-4 (8-2)      2 / 30  6             Ferrer  32-6 (20-3)      3  /  13
5    Tsonga 24-9 (6-4)         1 / 8    22          Gasquet  19-10 (8-2)      0  /  4
2     Federer 30-3 (7-1)        4 / 74   7           Berdych 28-7 (11-2)      1   /  7
30   Seppi  17-13 (11-3)      1 / 2     3            Nadal 30-4 (13-1)      2  /  48

FRIDAY QUARTER-FINALS  FEDEX ATP HEAD 2 HEADS – In Order of Play by Court

Centrale

(7) Tomas Berdych (CZE) vs (2) Rafael Nadal (ESP) Nadal Leads 11-3
05 Bastad (Sweden) Clay F Rafael Nadal 2-6  6-2 6-4
05 ATP Masters 1000 Cincinnati (USA) Hard R64 Tomas Berdych 6-7(4) 6-2 7-6(3)
06 ATP Masters 1000 Toronto (Canada) Hard R16 Tomas Berdych 6-1 3-6 6-2
06 ATP Masters 1000 Madrid (Spain) Hard QF Tomas Berdych 6-3 7-6(6)
07 ATP Masters 1000 Monte Carlo  Clay SF Rafael Nadal 6-0 7-5
07 Wimbledon (Great Britain) Grass QF Rafael Nadal 7-6(1) 6-4 6-2
08 ATP Masters 1000 Miami (USA) Hard SF Rafael Nadal 7-6(6) 6-2
09 ATP Masters 1000 Cincinnati (USA) Hard QF Rafael Nadal 6-4 7-5
09 ESP vs. CZE DC Final (Spain) Clay RR Rafael Nadal 7-5 6-0 6-2
10 ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells (USA)Hard QF Rafael Nadal 6-4 7-6(4)
10 Wimbledon (Great Britain) Grass F Rafael Nadal 6-3 7-5 6-4
10 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals  Hard RR Rafael Nadal 7-6(3) 6-1
11 ATP Masters 1000 Miami (USA) Hard QF Rafael Nadal 6-2 3-6 6-3
12 Australian Open (Australia) Hard QF Rafael Nadal 6-7(5) 7-6(6)  6-4  6-3

                          Tomas Berdych Rafael Nadal
 Sets Won:                    9                   28
 Tiebreak Sets Won:       3                     6

 Match Wins By Surface:
 Clay:                            0                    3
 Hard:                           3                     6
 Grass:                          0                     2

BERDYCH FASTFACTS

Tournament Highlights:
• The 26-year-old Czech Republic native  is appearing in his third quarter-final (2007, last year) and owns a 10-6 career mark…This week he’s defeated Lukasz Kubot 64 61 and No. 12 seed Nicolas Almagro 76(3) 63…Has held serve 17 of 19 games (89%) and has converted seven of 10 break points
• In ’07, he came in ranked No. 12 and lost to Italian Filippo Volandri in three sets in the quarter-finals
• Trying to become the first player from Czech Republic to reach semi-finals since Radek Stepanek in ‘08

2012 Highlights:
W: Montpellier (d Monfils); F: ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Madrid (l Federer); SF(2): Rotterdam (l Del Potro); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Monte Carlo (l Djokovic); QF(2): Australian Open (l Nadal); Dubai (l Murray)
YTD W-L: 28-7 (11-2 on clay)
YTD Tie-break: 14-3
YTD Titles: 1/Career Titles: 7 (2 on clay)
Date of Birth: September 17, 1985
South African Airways ATP Ranking: 7 (Career-high No. 6 on October 18, 2010)

2012 in Review:
• The top player from the Czech Republic enters his seventh ATP World Tour quarter-final in eight tournaments with a 28-7 record (11-2 on clay)…Five of his losses (2-5) have come to Top 10 foes
• He is coming off his 14th career ATP World Tour final (7-7 mark) in Madrid (l. to Federer), third in an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 final (1-2) and fifth on clay (2-3)
• His best result was capturing his seventh career ATP World Tour title in Montpellier, France on Feb. 5  (d. Monfils in final)…Also a semi-finalist in Rotterdam (l. to No. 10 del Potro) and Monte-Carlo (l. to Djokovic) along with quarter-finalist at Australian Open (l. to No. 2 Nadal) and Dubai (l. to No. 4 Murray)
• In first two ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournaments in March, reached fourth round in Indian Wells (l. to No. 12 Almagro) and third round in Miami (l. to Dimitrov)
• Prior to Monte Carlo, won both of his singles Davis Cup QF matches vs. Serbia, defeating Viktor Troicki and Janko Tipsarevic, both in straight sets…Czech Republic will play Argentina in SFs in September
• Has a 2-5 mark vs. Top 10 opponents this year (28-65 in career)…Also 1-5 in finals vs. Top 10 opponents with lone win over No. 10 Ljubicic in 2005 Paris final

NADAL FASTFACTS

Tournament Highlights:
• The tournament’s only five-time champion (2005-07, ’09-10) opened with a 61 75 victory over German Florian Mayer on Wednesday night, losing only eight points in 10 service games (40 of 48 pts.) and followed with a 61 61 win over countryman Marcel Granollers…Only player yet to drop serve in 17 games (saving three break points) and has won eight of 16 return games…Has a 33-2 career record
• He is coming off a runner-up showing last year (l. to Djokovic 64 64)
• Two years ago came in No. 3 and defeated countryman David Ferrer 75 62 in the final…In 2009, he defeated No. 3 Novak Djokovic in the final to improve to 7-0 against Top 10 opponents… He became the first player to win four titles in tournament history…Thomas Muster (1990, ’95-96), Martin Mulligan (1963, ’65, ’67) and Jaroslav Drobny (1950-52) are the only three-time winners
• His first loss here came in the opening round (after a bye) in 2008 to Juan Carlos Ferrero 75 61
• In 2007, he defeated Fernando Gonzalez 62 62 in the title match and in 2006, prevailed in a fifth set tie-break over No. 1 Federer (saved two match points in 5:05 marathon)…In 2005, defeated Argentine Guillermo Coria in a fifth set tie-break (in five hours, 14 minutes) for his first Rome title

2012 Highlights:
W: ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Monte Carlo (d Djokovic); Barcelona (d Ferrer); F: Australian Open (l Djokovic); SF: Doha (l Monfils); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells (l Federer); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Miami (W/O vs Murray)
YTD W-L: 30-4 (13-1 on clay)
YTD Tie-break: 4-3
YTD Titles: 2/Career Titles: 48 (34 on clay)
Date of Birth: June 3, 1986
South African Airways ATP Ranking: 3 (Career-high No. 1 on August 18, 2008)

2012 in Review: 
• The 25-year-old Mallorcan is making his seventh quarter-final (or better) appearance in as many tournaments and owns a 30-4 match record (13-1 on clay) and two ATP World Tour clay titles…He is ranked No. 3 for the first time since week of May 10, 2010
• Last week he lost in the third round to countryman Fernando Verdasco in Madrid (after holding a 5-2, double break lead in third set)…The loss ended a 22-match clay winning streak since losing to Djokovic in last year’s Rome final
• Prior to last week, he captured his seventh title in Barcelona on Apr. 29 (d. Ferrer) and the previous week he captured his eighth straight ATP Masters 1000 Monte Carlo crown (d. Djokovic)
• Has a 48-21 career record in ATP World Tour finals (34-4 on clay)
• Opened the season by reaching semi-finals in Doha (l. to  Monfils) and followed with runner-up at the Australian Open, falling to Djokovic 57 64 62 67 75 in a record 5:53 marathon…Has reached the last four Grand Slam finals (1-3 mark) going back to Roland Garros (10-5 lifetime in finals)
• Prior to Monte Carlo, his last match was Mar. 28 in Miami where he defeated No. 6 Tsonga in the quarter-finals before withdrawing from SF (vs. Murray) due to left knee injury…It was only second walkover he gave in 777 matches (’04 Estoril)
• In Indian Wells, he reached the singles semi-finals (l. to Federer) and captured his eighth career doubles title (w/M. Lopez) in Indian Wells…Did not drop a set in five matches during doubles play

CLAY COURT MASTER – Nadal has the best career match record on clay in the Open Era with a 244-19 mark (.928) and he’s 34-4 in clay finals. Here's a year-by-year look at Nadal's clay court supremacy since 2005, compiling a 217-9 match record (.960) and 33-4 mark in clay court finals on the ATP World Tour:
           
            W-L    Clay    Finals
2012 – 13-1    2-0    2008 – 24-1 4-0
2011 – 28-2   3-2 (l. to Djokovic twice) 2007 – 31-1 5-1 (l. to Federer)
2010 -  22-0   4-0    2006 – 26-0 4-0 
2009 -  23-2   3-1 (l. to Federer)  2005 – 50-2 8-0

Note: Nadal has won 34 clay court quarter-finals in a row (last loss Andreev: ’05 Valencia)

(1)Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs (5) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) Tsonga Leads 5-4
08 Australian Open (Australia) Hard F Novak Djokovic 4-6 6-4 6-3 7-6(2)
08 Bangkok (Thailand) Hard F Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-6(4) 6-4
08 ATP Masters 1000 Paris (France) Hard R16 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-4 1-6 6-3
08 Tennis Masters Cup (China) Hard RR Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 1-6 7-5 6-1
09 Marseille (France) Hard SF Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-4 7-6(1)
09 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Miami Hard QF Novak Djokovic 6-3 6-4
10 Australian Open (Australia) Hard QF Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-6(8) 6-7(5) 1-6 6-3 6-1
11 Wimbledon (Great Britain) Grass SF Novak Djokovic 7-6(4   6-2 6-7(9) 6-3
11 ATP Masters 1000 Montreal Hard SF Novak Djokovic 6-4 3-0   ret (right arm)

                                  Novak Djokovic Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
 Sets Won:                          14                          13
 Tiebreak Sets Won:              3                           4

 Match Wins By Surface:
 Hard:                                  3                           5
 Grass:                                 1                           0

DJOKOVIC FASTFACTS

Tournament Highlights:
• The reigning champ has a 20-3 career mark and opened with a 63 63 win over Aussie teenager Bernard Tomic on Tuesday and followed with a 46 62 63 victory over No.14  seed Juan Monaco…
Has held serve 20 of 23 games (87%)
• Last year beat No. 1 Rafael Nadal 64 64 in third final here (2-1) …He lost only 11 games in his first three wins, over  Polish qualifier Lukasz Kubot 60 63, No. 14 Stanislas Wawrinka 64 61 and No. 5 Robin Soderling 63 60, before winning a 3:02 SF battle vs  No. 4 Murray 61 36 76(2)
• Two years ago lost in the quarter-finals in three sets to No. 9 Fernando Verdasco…In 2009, lost to No. 1 Nadal 76(2) 62 in the final… In 2008, he rallied to defeat Stanislas Wawrinka 46 63 63 in the final and went through the tournament without facing a seed
• Made his debut in ‘07 and reached the quarters (d. Soderling, Baghdatis, l. to eventual champn Nadal)

2012 Highlights:
W (2): Australian Open (d Nadal); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Miami (d Murray); F: ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Monte Carlo (l Nadal); SF(2): Dubai (l Murray); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells (l Isner); QF: ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Madrid (l Tipsarevic)
YTD W-L: 28-4 (8-2 on clay)
YTD Tie- break: 7-6
YTD Titles: 2/Career Titles: 30 (7 on clay)
Date of Birth: May 22, 1987
South African Airways ATP Ranking: 1 (Career-high on July 4, 2011)

2012 in Review:
• The World No. 1 is appearing in his seventh quarter-final this season and enters with a 28-4 match record (8-2 on clay)…Last week he lost to countryman Janko Tipsarevic in the quarter-finals in Madrid…Has a 7-3 mark vs. Top 10…One year ago left Rome with a 37-0 record and seven titles
• He is playing in his third clay tournament of the season and reached the final in Monte-Carlo on April 22 (l. to Nadal 63 61)…He’ repeated titles at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 in Miami on Apr. 1  (d. No. 4 Murray) and the Australian Open title on Jan. 29
• Prior to Miami,  lost in the semi-finals to Isner 76 36 76, in Indian Wells, and to Andy Murray in Dubai 
• En route to winning his fifth Grand Slam title (third in a row) Down Under (d. Murray and Nadal in back-to-back five-setters in SFs and final)…His 5:53 marathon win over Nadal was longest Slam final ever
• Has a 98-10 match record since the beginning of last year (went 70-6 in 2011)…This is the 46th  straight  week at No. 1 in South African Airways ATP Rankings (since July 4, 2011) after Wimbledon title

TSONGA FASTFACTS

Tournament Highlights:
• The 27-year-old Frenchman has a 5-4 career record and after a first round bye, defeated Viktor Troicki 63 62 and No. 10 seed Juan Martin del Potro 64 61..Has held serve 15 of 17 games (88%) and leading in return games won pct. (53%, 9 of 17 games)
• Two years ago reached his first quarter-final (d. Troicki, Giraldo, l. to Ferrer)
•  In his first two trips to Rome, lost in the first round to countrymen, Gilles Simon in a third set tie-break in 2008 and to Richard Gasquet in '09

2012 Highlights:
W: Doha (d Monfils); SF: Marseille (l Del Potro); QF(3): Dubai (l Del Potro); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Miami (l Nadal); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Monte Carlo (l Simon)
YTD W-L: 24-9 (6-4 on clay)
YTD Tie-break: 7-5
YTD Titles: 1/Career Titles: 8 (0 on clay)
Date of Birth: April 17, 1985
South African Airways ATP Ranking: 5 (Career-high on February 27)

2012 in Review:
• The top Frenchman is playing in his sixth quarter-final or better this season and has a 24-9 match record (6-4 on clay), highlighted by his eighth career ATP World Tour title, a semi-final and three other quarter-finals…This is his third ATP Masters 1000 QF, 12th in his career (4-7 mark)
• In opening week of campaign in Doha, captured title (d. Monfils) and reached the semi-finals in February in Marseille (l. to del Potro)…Afterwards, reached a career-high No. 5 on Feb. 27
• He played in Davis Cup quarter-finals Apr. 6-8 vs. the U.S., defeating Ryan Harrison and falling to John Isner in four sets
• In first round Davis Cup tie in Canada, won both of his matches in straight sets (d. Pospisil, Dancevic)
• Lost to Kei Nishikori in Australian Open 4th Rd. in a three-hour, 30-minute five-setter and to No. 10 del Potro in Marseille SFs in three-set 2:49 battle…In Miami, reached QFs (l. to Nadal)
• His win over No. 9 del Potro on Thursday was his first against a Top 10 this season (1-3) and 26th of his career (26-35)…Has two wins over No.1s – d. Federer in ’09 Montreal, d. Nadal at 11 Queen’s Club

(3) Roger Federer (SUI) vs Andreas Seppi (ITA)               Federer Leads 8-0 (3-0 on clay)
07 ATP Masters1000 Monte Carlo  Clay R32 Roger Federer 7-6(4) 7-6(6)
08 ATP Masters Series Hamburg  Clay SF Roger Federer 6-3 6-1
09 Doha (Qatar) Hard R16 Roger Federer 6-3 6-3
09 Australian Open (Australia) Hard R128 Roger Federer 6-1 7-6(4) 7-5
09 ATP  Masters 1000 Monte Carlo Clay R32 Roger Federer 6-4 6-4
09 Basel (Switzerland) Hard R16 Roger Federer 6-3 6-3
10 ATP World Masters 1000 Shanghai Hard R16 Roger Federer 6-3 6-4
12 Doha (Qatar) Hard QF Roger Federer 6-3 5-7 6-4

                             Roger Federer Andreas Seppi
 Sets Won:                     17                     1
 Tiebreak Sets Won:         3                      0
 
FEDERER FASTFACTS

Tournament Highlights:
• The 30-year-old Swiss native comes in with a  21-11 career mark in Rome and opened on Wednesday with a 63 64 win over Argentine Carlos Berlocq and followed with a 62 57 61 victory over former No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero…No. 1 in first serve pts. (83%) and No. 2 in service games won (22 of 24, 92%)
• Last year defeated No. 18 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in opening match (after bye) before losing in third round to No. 16 Richard Gasquet in a third set tie-break
• Has appeared in the semi-finals or better three times in 11 previous outings…He reached the final in 2003 (l. to Mantilla) and 2006 (l. to Nadal in fifth set TB), his best results, and semi-finals in 2009 (l. to Djokovic)…He also was a quarter-finalist in 2008 (l. to Stepanek)
• Two years ago he suffered his first opening round loss since 2002 to Ernests Gulbis in three sets
• He made his debut in 2000 and lost to Andrei Medvedev in the first round…Also lost in the first round two years later to Italian Andrea Gaudenzi

2012 Highlights:
W (4): Rotterdam (d del Potro); Dubai (d Murray); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells (d Isner); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Madrid (d Berdych); SF (2): Doha (W/O vs Tsonga); Australian Open (l Nadal)
YTD W-L: 30-3 (7-1 on clay)
YTD Tie-break: 9-5
YTD Titles: 4/Career Titles: 74 (10 on clay)
Date of Birth: August 8, 1981
South African Airways ATP Ranking: 2 (Career-high No. 1 on Feb. 2, 2004)

2012 in Review: 
• The Swiss superstar is appearing in his seventh quarter-final of the season in eighth tournament and he enters with a 30-3 record (7-1 on clay)…Undefeated in QF matches (6-0)
• He is coming off his ATP World Tour-best fourth title of the season last Sunday in Madrid (d. Berdych) and 20th career ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crown…He became the first three-time winner in Madrid…Afterwards went from No. 3 to No. 2 for first time since week of March 14, 2011
• Prior to Madrid, his last outing was a third round three-set loss to Andy Roddick in  Miami on Mar. 26 …The loss broke a 16-match winning streak
• His only previous clay match was a four-set Davis Cup loss to American John Isner on Feb. 10
• Has captured at least one ATP World Tour title for 12 straight years, best among active players (Roddick has 11 but yet to win this year) and his 74 career titles is No. 4 in the Open Era
• He won consecutive ATP World Tour titles in Rotterdam (d. del Potro) on Feb. 19, Dubai (d. Murray) on Mar. 3 and his 19th career ATP Masters 1000 in Indian Wells on Mar. 18 (d. No. 9 del Potro, No. 2 Nadal, No. 11 Isner in final three rounds without dropping a set)
• During 16-match winning streak, only dropped three sets, to Nikolay Davydenko in semi-finals of Rotterdam and to Milos Raonic (3R) and Thomaz Bellucci (4R) in Indian Wells
• Has won 47 of past 50 matches and seven of 10 tournament titles since falling in five sets in last year’s US Open semi-finals (l. to Djokovic)
• With Madrid title, he surpassed $70 million in career prize money (most in pro tennis)

ON A ROLL – Federer is 47-3 (winning seven of past 10 tournaments) since falling to Djokovic in the US Open semi-finals last September:
2011 Davis Cup - vs. Australia         2-0
2011 Basel – (d. Nishikori in Final)         7-0
2011 ATP Masters 1000 Paris - (d. Tsonga in Final)      12-0
2011 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals (d. Tsonga in Final) 17-0
2012 Doha – (W/O vs. Tsonga in SF)        20-0
2012 Australian Open – (l. to Nadal in SF)       24-1
2012 Davis Cup – vs. U.S. (l. to Isner)        24-2
2012 Rotterdam – (d. del Potro in Final)       28-2
2012 Dubai - (d. Murray in Final)        33-2
2012 Indian Wells – (d. Isner in Final)        39-2
2012 Miami - (l. to Roddick in 3rd Rd.)                           40-3
2012 Madrid - (d. Berdych in Final)                              45-3
2012 Rome – (vs. Seppi in QF)         47-3

SEPPI FASTFACTS

Tournament Highlights:
• The 28-year-old Italian enters with a 7-7 career mark and has played in two of the three longest matches this week, defeating No. 20-ranked Stanislas Wawrinka 67(1) 76(6) 76(6) in 3:21 on Thursday in longest match thus far, saving six match points...Also beat No. 10 John Isner 26 76(5) 75 in second round in 2:51...In first round, got by Denis Istomin 64 36 63
• Prior to this year, his best results were second round in 2005 , '08 (l. to No. 8 Blake), '09 (l. to No. 1 Nadal) and '10 (l. to No. 5 Murray) with three losses coming to Top 10 opponents
• He is the first Italian to reach the quarter-finals in Rome since Filippo Volandri advanced to the semis in 2007 (l. to Gonzalez)

2012 Highlights:
W: Belgrade (d Paire); QF: Doha (l Federer); Rotterdam (l Berdych); Bucharest (l Fognini)
YTD W-L: 17-13 (11-3 on clay)
YTD Tie-break: 8-3
YTD Titles: 1/Career Titles: 2 (1 on clay)
Date of Birth: February 21, 1984
South African Airways ATP Ranking: 30 (Career-high No. 27 on July 27, 2008)

2012 in Review:
• The top Italian is making his fifth ATP World Tour quarter-final showing of the season and comes in with a 17-13 match record (11-3 on clay)
• Two weeks ago, captured his second career ATP World Tour title in Belgrade, defeating first-time finalist Benoit Paire of France
• He’s also advanced to the quarter-finals in Doha in the opening week of the campaign (l. to Federer),  n Rotterdam in February (l. to Berdych) and Bucharest three weeks ago (l. to countryman Fognini)
• Broke a 30-match losing streak vs. Top 10 opponents with his second round win over No. 10 John Isner on Tuesday…It was his first victory since May 2008 when he defeated No. 9 Gasquet in Hamburg
• Will move from No. 30 to around a career-high No. 25 or 26 by reaching the quarter-finals

SuperTennis Arena

(6) David Ferrer (ESP) vs (16) Richard Gasquet (FRA)        Ferrer Leads 6-1 (1-0 on clay)
04 Stuttgart (Germany) Clay R16 David Ferrer 6-4 6-2
07 Tokyo (Japan) Hard F David Ferrer 6-1 6-2
07 Tennis Masters Cup (China) Hard RR David Ferrer 6-1 6-1
08 ATP Masters 1000 (Canada) Hard R16 Richard Gasquet 6-3 6-3
09 Dubai (U.A.E.) Hard SF David Ferrer 6-2 6-2
09 ATP Masters 1000 Shanghai Hard R64 David Ferrer 6-4 6-3
12 Australian Open (Australia) Hard R16 David Ferrer 6-4 6-4 6-1

                              David Ferrer Richard Gasquet
 Sets Won:                      13                 2
 Tiebreak Sets Won:          0                  0

FERRER FASTFACTS

Tournament Highlights:
• The 30-year-old Spaniard is appearing in the quarter-finals for the third time in nine attempts (14-8 record)…Two years ago reached his first final (d. No. 2 Djokovic, No. 6 Verdasco, l. to No. 3 Nadal)
• His previous best was the semi-finals in 2005 when he lost to Nadal 7-5 in the third set
• This week after a bye, defeated countryman Fernando Verdasco 63 76(3) and followed with 60 76(5) victory over No. 11 seed Gilles Simon
• He made his debut in 2003 and defeated No. 1 Andre Agassi in the first round before losing in the next round to Ivan Ljubicic...The following year, posted win over No. 10 Sebastien Grosjean in second round and lost to No. 17 Jiri Novak in third round

2012 Highlights:
W(3): Auckland (d Rochus); Buenos Aires (d Almagro); Acapulco (d Verdasco); F: Barcelona (l Nadal); QF(3): Australian Open (l Djokovic); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Miami (l Djokovic); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Madrid (l Federer)
YTD W-L: 32-6 (20-3 on clay)
YTD Tie-break: 8-5
YTD Titles: 3/Career Titles: 14 (8 on clay)
Date of Birth: April 2, 1982
South African Airways ATP Ranking: 6 (Career-high No. 4 on February 25, 2008)

2012 in Review:
• The No. 2 Spaniard comes into his eighth quarter-final with a 32-6 match record (20-3 on clay) on the season, his third in an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (Miami, Madrid)…His 20 wins on clay is an ATP World Tour-high this season (along with Nicolas Almagro)
• Has a 3-1 mark in ATP World Tour finals and in his last title match on April 29 in Barcelona, lost to countryman Rafael Nadal 76 75 for the fourth time in the Barca final
• Won three of first four tournaments in Auckland (d. Rochus), Buenos Aires (d. Almagro) and Acapulco (d. Verdasco)…Also a quarter-finalist at the Australian Open and Miami (l. to Djokovic in both) and third round at Indian Wells (l. to Istomin)
• His three titles ties a career-high (also in 2007) and  is second-best on the ATP World Tour behind Roger Federer’s four …Has a 14-15 career mark in ATP World Tour finals, 8-10 on clay

GASQUET FASTFACTS

Tournament Highlights:
• The 25-year-old Frenchman is appearing in his second straight quarter-final after posting wins over
Jurgen Melzer 61 76(6), wild card Paolo Lorenzi 63 62 and No. 4 Andy Murray 67(1) 63 62 (saving 15 of 17 break points)…Has held serve 30 of 33 games (saving 17 of 20 break points)
• Last year advanced to the semi-finals with wins over No. 3 Roger Federer (3R) and No. 7 Tomas Berdych (QF) before losing to No. 1 Rafael Nadal 75 61
•  Has an 11-5 career record, including a 4-3 mark vs. Top 10 opponents...Also beat No. 10 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the first round in 2009...His other losses have come to No. 9 Andre Agassi (2R) in 2005 and No. 8 Fernando Verdasco (3R) in '09

2012 Highlights:
F: Estoril (l Del Potro); QF: Sydney (l Istomin); Montpellier (l Kohlschreiber); Rotterdam (l Davydenko); Marseille (l Del Potro)
YTD W-L: 19-10 (8-2 on clay)
YTD Tie-break: 4-4
YTD Titles: 0/Career Titles: 6 (2 on clay)
Date of Birth: June 18, 1986
South African Airways ATP Ranking: 22 (Career-high No. 7 on July 9, 2007)

2012 in Review:
• The No. 4 Frenchman is making his sixth quarter-final appearance of the season and enters with a 19-10 match record (8-2 on clay)…Has a 2-4 mark vs. Top 10 opponents (19-54 in career) and posted win over No. 4 Murray on Thursday…Other Top 10 win came over No. 9 Tipsarevic in third round at the Australian Open
• Playing in his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 quarter-final of the season and ninth in his career (5-3 mark in QF matches)…Last semi-final was in Rome one year ago
• His best showing was a runner-up in Estoril on May 6 (l. to del Potro) and a quarter-finalist in
Sydney (l. to Istomin), Montpellier (l. to Kohlschreiber), Rotterdam (l. to Davydenko) and Marseille (l. to del Potro)
• Also reached 4th Rd. at Australian Open (l. to Ferrer); lost opening matches in Dubai and Indian Wells before advancing to 4th Rd. in Miami (l. to Djokovic)

ROME (AP) Top-ranked Novak Djokovic overcame a poor first set and a smashed racket to beat Juan Monaco 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 and reach the Italian Open quarterfinals on Thursday.

Also through at Foro Italico were five-time Rome champion Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Serena and Venus Williams and French Open champ Li Na. However, top-ranked Victoria Azarenka withdrew with a right shoulder injury.

With the wind whipping the red clay into the air, Djokovic struggled with his serve and backhand in the opening set before settling down and wearing out Monaco.

''It was a very strange match. It was difficult to play with that wind but the conditions were the same for both us, he just handled it better at the start,'' Djokovic said, switching between Italian and English. ''I was playing far too defensively and passively and he was controlling everything. He was the better player for a set and a half.''

Djokovic next meets fifth-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who cruised past No. 10 Juan Martin del Potro 6-4, 6-1.

Federer also dropped a set in a 6-2, 5-7, 6-1 win over 2001 Rome winner Juan Carlos Ferrero. However, except for a brief lapse that resulted in a costly break at the end of the second set, Federer controlled with expert serving and an array of winners on a cool and crisp evening with little humidity.

Federer hit 11 aces and led 46-12 in winners, closing out the match with a backhand overhead after following his serve to the net.

Federer won his 74th career title at the Madrid Open on Sunday, and improved to 47-3 since last year's U.S. Open final. He's won seven of his last 10 tournaments.

The 16-time Grand Slam winner faces top Italian Andreas Seppi, who outlasted Stanislas Wawrinka 6-7 (1), 7-6 (6), 7-6 (6) - after Wawrinka wasted six match points.

Earlier, Nadal routed Marcel Granollers 6-1, 6-1 and will next meet seventh-seeded Tomas Berdych, who eliminated Nicolas Almagro 7-6 (3), 6-3. Berdych was the runner-up to Federer in Madrid, where Djokovic and Nadal lost in the quarterfinals on the blue clay.

In other action, Richard Gasquet rallied past No. 4 Andy Murray 6-7 (1), 6-3, 6-2; and sixth-seeded David Ferrer beat Gilles Simon 6-0, 7-6 (5).

Murray skipped the Madrid Open with a back injury, and he said after the loss that it was still bothering him.

On the women's side, the Williams sisters advanced easily.

Ninth-seeded Serena rolled past Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain 6-3, 6-1 to extend her winning streak to 16 matches after winning titles in Charleston, South Carolina, and Madrid. Serena called for the trainer while leading 4-1 in the second set and had her left ankle re-taped. She then easily won the final two games.

''I wanted to loosen the tape and so I called the trainer to re-tape,'' Serena said. ''It was too tight.''

With the French Open 10 days away, Serena is ready.

''I feel good and I have had a lot of practice on clay and today I was running so much and I was ready to play and feeling good,'' she said. ''I wasn't tired at all. I feel good.''

Serena's quarterfinal opponent will be Italian hope Flavia Pennetta, who routed Petra Cetkovska of the Czech Republic 6-0, 6-1.

Older sister Venus eliminated fifth-seeded Sam Stosur 6-4, 6-3. She will next face defending champion Maria Sharapova, who beat 2008 French Open champ Ana Ivanovic 7-6 (4), 6-3 after saving three set points in the first.

Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova struggled before advancing with a 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 win over Sorana Cirstea of Romania. Her quarterfinal opponent will be Angelique Kerber, who easily beat fellow German Julia Goerges 6-4, 6-1.

Li eliminated Chanelle Scheepers of South Africa 7-6 (3), 6-2 and will meet Dominika Cibulkova, who advanced at Azarenka's expense.

As for Djokovic, in the first set alone he committed 22 unforced errors - 14 of which were backhands - to Monaco's 16, and got in only 47 percent of his first serves.

When Djokovic missed two consecutive backhands to hand Monaco the first set, he slammed his racket to the clay twice, breaking it on the second attempt, which drew a warning from the chair umpire.

The burst of anger appeared to help, though, as Djokovic virtually eliminated errors from his game. He improved to 6-0 in his career against Monaco.

''It's not the first time and I don't think it will be the last time - I'm a player with a lot of emotion,'' Djokovic said of breaking his racket. ''I hope kids didn't see it. But then it changed the match. ... The momentum swung to my side.''

Djokovic won this tournament for the second time last year, as part of his memorable 43-match winning streak.

Venus Williams: remains on track to play at this summer's Olympics in London

Serena and Venus Williams both reached the quarter-finals of the WTA Internazionali BNL d'Italia with straight-sets victories on Thursday.

Having been pushed hard by Nadia Petrova, Serena eased through to the last eight with a 6-3 6-1 triumph over Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain.

The ninth-seeded American has now won 16 matches on clay in a row, including picking up the title in Madrid last week.

Venus is also coming into form with the French Open looming large on the horizon, upsetting US Open champion and fifth seed Sam Stosur 6-4 6-3. The victory keeps her on target to play in this summer's Olympics in London.

Points required

"I wouldn't have come back so soon but I needed the points to get in the Olympics," she said afterwards.

"I probably wouldn't have come back before Wimbledon or maybe even after it. I need to win more but that's great."

Next up for Venus will be Maria Sharapova, the Russian having saved six set points in the first set on her way to a 7-6 6-3 triumph over former French Open champion Ana Ivanovic.

Petra Kvitova, seeded fourth in the tournament, also advanced with a 6-2 5-7 6-2 victory over Sorana Cirstea while China's Li Na and Italian Flavia Pennetta also reached the last eight.

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Andy Murray's preparations for the French Open suffered a setback as he was beaten by 16th seed Richard Gasquet in the third round of the Italian Open.

More to follow.

Roger Federer bounced back from a second-set wobble to sneak past Juan Carlos Ferrero in the third round of the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome.

Federer, who was the last man standing at the Madrid Open last week, took one hour 47 minutes to record a 6-2 5-7 6-1 success against Ferrero, a former world No. 1.

He is now one step closer to a first Rome title - but a slump in the second frame, when he looked fatigued and a host of errors crept in, will be of some concern.

Ferrero held his own in the first set until the sixth game, when Federer converted his third break point with a brilliant cross-court forehand winner that just clipped the line. Federer had taken a few games to feel his opponent out, but once he had sussed the Spaniard's strategy, it was one-way traffic - and Ferrero did not seem to have the variety in his locker to pose a different sort of problem. The Swiss maestro took the opening set with a breathtaking backhand that gave him a second break.

Ferrero found his feet again early in the second, trying to play with more aggression in a bid to disrupt his opponent, who was apparently riding a smooth wave to victory. To Ferrero's credit, it seemed to work, as Federer lost a lot of his sharpness, coughing up an uncharacteristic string of unforced errors in the midsection of the second frame to leave the score tied at 4-4 - and the momentum shifting towards Ferrero.

There was nothing between the players in the ninth game, with Federer eventually managing to scrape his way through a nervy service game, but Ferrero got the reward his resurgence merited in the 11th, breaking to move 6-5 up. Ferrero subsequently slipped 0-30 behind, yet showed his resilience to come back and level at one set each.

Federer smoothed off his jagged edges early in the third stanza, grabbing a break in the second game to re-assert his authority, and take some of the steam out of Ferrero's surge. A second break in the sixth game decisively flattened Ferrero, and allowed the world No. 2 - eventually - find his way through to the next round.

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Aravane Rezai: Wild-card berth

Home players have been handed all the remaining wild cards for the forthcoming French Open.

Former Australian Open finalist Arnaud Clement, now 34, heads the list.

He is joined by former world number 12 Paul Henri Mathieu, who spent a long spell out of the game with a groin injury, Jonathan Dasnieres de Veigy, Adrian Mannarino, Eric Prodon and Guillaume Rufin.

Lleyton Hewitt and Brian Baker had already been given wild cards.

In the women's singles, Aravane Rezai is given the chance ot return to Roland Garros. The former top-20 player has slipped out of the top 100 following illness.

She is joined by Kristina Mladenovic, the 2009 junior champion, and Caroline Garcia, who pushed Maria Sharapova all the way in last year's tournament.

Claire Feuerstein, Victoria Larriere and Irena Pavlovic are also handed main-draw spots.

Australian Ashleigh Barty and American Melanie Oudin had already secured their wild cards.

Qualifying gets under way on Tuesday, with the tournament proper starting on May 27.

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Andy Murray: no chance to take a pause

Andy Murray admits a back injury is hampering his preparations for the French Open.

The world No 4 crashed out of Roland Garros warm-up the Italian Open in the third round to Richard Gasquet, but admitted he has been struggling for months.

"I've felt it for some months, but I haven't had a chance to take a pause," Murray, who skipped last week's Madrid Masters, said.

"I've tried not to make it any worse, but the muscles get tired from compensating.

"I've got a lot of big events coming and there's not that much time to rest any niggles. Hopefully when the French comes, the goal is to be in peak condition."

The clay-court Grand Slam tournament starts in Paris on May 27.

Novak Djokovic avoided an early upset at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome after the top seed was forced to battle from a set and a break down to beat Juan Monaco.

Djokovic appeared to be struggling with the blustery conditions at the Foro Italico as he lost the opening set, but showed impressive strength of character to rally for a 4-6 6-2 6-3 victory.

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