Federer toils as Nadal and Djokovic cruise in Madrid

MADRID – Roger Federer came close to another shocking loss before finally seeing off Feliciano Lopez in three gripping sets at the Madrid Open, as rivals Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic continued their winning streaks with ease.

Federer, beaten by Jurgen Melzer in Monte Carlo last month, saved a match point in a marathon 7-6 (13), 6-7 (1), 7-6 (7) win after three hours.Djokovic took his winning streak to 30 by beating Kevin Anderson of South Africa 6-3, 6-4. Nadal is unbeaten in 35 matches on clay after his 6-1, 6-3 rout of Marcos Baghdatis. Seventh-seeded Tomas Berdych and fifth-seeded Robin Soderling were also winners.On the women’s side, Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic eased past second-seeded Vera Zvonareva 6-1, 6-4 to reach the quarterfinals.The top-ranked Nadal next plays 2009 US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro, who swept aside Marin Cilic 6-3, 6-0 in 64 minutes.’I think he’s the worst rival to have to face in the second outing of a tournament,’ Nadal said.Del Potro, who has dropped down the rankings following a serious wrist injury, wasn’t looking forward to playing the five-time French Open champion either.’The game is going to be of the most difficult you could face on clay, he’s at home, playing really very well and hasn’t lost on this surface for around two years,’ Del Potro said.The No. 3-ranked Federer next meets Xavier Malisse of Belgium after overcoming Lopez in front of a fiercely partisan home crowd at the Caja Magica in Madrid.’It felt like a really quick court out there and as the match wore on the more difficult it got to return Feliciano’s serve,’ said Federer.’Obviously I don’t have too much rhythm going into tomorrow’s (yesterday) match with Malisse, a steady baseliner.’Lopez was left to rue squandering a 5-2 lead in the deciding third-set tiebreak.’He always gets the best out of me,’ the Spaniard said.Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo was in the crowd to watch Wednesday’s action and was treated to superb displays from the world’s top two players.- Nampa-AP