Nishikori advances to Japan Open quarterfinals

Kei Nishikori battled from a set down to defeat Spain's Tommy Robredo on Thursday and book a quarterfinal meeting with second seed and 2008 champion Tomas Berdych at the Japan Open.

Staying aggressive: Kei Nishikori plays a return against Tommy Robredo in the Japan Open on Thursday in Tokyo. Nishikori, the eighth seed, beat the Spaniard 5-7, 6-1, 6-0 to reach the quarterfinals. KYODO

Eighth-seeded Nishikori, who made his first semifinal finish of the season in Malaysia last weekend, prevailed 5-7, 6-1, 6-0 in front of a partisan home crowd to reach the last eight for the first time in five attempts.

Nishikori, who has fallen in the first round the past two years here, dropped his serve in the opening game and failed to capitalize on a number of chances, allowing unseeded Robredo to break again in the 11th game before holding on to take the first set at Ariake Colosseum.

But the 22-year-old stormed back, racing to a 3-0 lead and acing out to take the second set, before going on to complete victory in a little under two hours on center court.

"I am seeded in this tournament, so I am expected to come this far anyway, but I'm happy and relieved that I have got through to the next round. I am looking forward to doing better," said Nishikori.

Nishikori said defense will be the key against Berdych, who he holds a 2-1 record against but lost to in their most recent meeting in Monte Carlo.

"His play suits this surface and he has won this tournament before. He serves well and has got a flat, very effective forehand. Defense will be the key and I can't allow Berdych to find his rhythm because that would be very difficult to break."

Earlier, world No. 6 Berdych captured his 50th ATP Tour victory of the season in 80 minutes on a warm afternoon, beating Colombian Alejandro Falla 6-3, 7-5.

Winner of his seventh career title at Montpellier in February, the Czech uncorked three superb backhand winners en route to breaking Falla and taking a 4-2 lead before going on to serve out the first set.

Berdych reeled off back-to-back aces to make it 4-4 in the second set after Falla had threatened to break his serve. He got the crucial break in the 11th game with another pinpoint backhand before closing out with his ninth ace of the match.

"I was feeling much, much better physically than in my first match and I was able to profit from that," said Berdych, who opened with a 6-1, 7-6 (8-6) win over Frenchman Benoit Paire.

Looking ahead to Friday's quarterfinal, he said, "Nishikori is one for the future. He is playing at home, which is always a good advantage, and will give him extra motivation, but nothing changes for me. I will try to play my best tennis and see what happens."

Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus knocked out fourth seed Juan Monaco of Argentina 7-5, 1-6, 6-3. He will next play either Tatsuma Ito or Russian qualifier Dmitry Tursunov.

In the day's opening match on center court, third-seeded Serbian Janko Tipsarevic disposed of Swiss qualifier Marco Chiudinelli 6-4, 6-2.

Tipsarevic will play sixth seed Milos Raonic of Canada in the next round. Raonic won his match against Viktor Troicki after the Serb retired at 3-0 down in the first set with a calf injury.

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Sharapova reaches Pan Pacific quarterfinals

World No. 2 Maria Sharapova staved off a strong challenge from Lucie Safarova to beat her Czech opponent in a straight sets 6-2, 7-6 (7-5) victory on Wednesday to reach the quarterfinals of the Pan Pacific Open.

The career Gram Slam titleholder dominated the first set, but the world 17th-ranked player dug deep in her energy reserves to force a tiebreaker in the second on a balmy day on center court at Ariake Tennis Forest Park.

Sharapova, making her seventh appearance here with titles in 2005 and 2009, rolled out to a 3-0 lead in the second set, but Safarova bounced back and broke the Russian former world No. 1 at triple breakpoint in the fifth game.

The pair played a see-saw battle, tying it twice at 4-4 and 5-5, and Safarova broke Sharapova again in the 11th game before her serve deserted her in the next game to force the extras.

"After winning the first set, and going up 3-0 in the second, I think I became a little frustrated. I thought I had the momentum," said Sharapova, adding that she struggled against the lefty's serve.

"The spin comes from a different direction (than right-handers), and it takes a little longer to get used to. When her serve is on, it can become quite tricky," she said.

Sharapova took a 3-0 lead in the tiebreak, but Safarova rallied to tie it at 4-4. The Russian pulled ahead and served out the match with an ace on the final point to finish in 1 hour, 43 minutes. Sharapova will next face Australian No. 8 seed Samantha Stosur, a 6-4, 7-5 winner over Slovakian Dominika Cibulkova in another third-round match.

Asked her prospects on facing Stosur in the quarterfinals on Thursday, Sharapova said, "I have a good record against her. But she is certainly a solid player; uses a lot of spin. It will be important to keep improving and play at a higher level against her."

Stosur, ranked ninth in the world and making her sixth appearance here, improved to 3-0 for her career against the world 13th-ranked Cibulkova, who played for the fourth time in Tokyo. Stosur broke her opponent three times and saved four out of five break points.

Italy's Sara Errani, the No. 6 seed, took advantage of France's Marion Bartoli's errant service game to rally in a 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 win. Ninth-seed Bartoli shot herself down with 12 double faults.

"It was a different environment than I'm used to and a faster surface, so it was harder to play my game. I didn't start well, but from the second set after the first three games, she was more tired and I played a little better," said Errani.

Russian Nadia Petrova, the 17th seed, outlasted Croat Petra Martic 7-6 (7-2), 6-7 (1-7), 6-4 to reach the final eight.

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Big names advance to quarterfinals

No problem: Rafael Nadal hits a return against Marcel Granollers during their match on Thursday in Rome. AP

ROME — 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.

The 16-time Grand Slam winner faces top Italian Andreas Seppi, who outlasted Stanislas Wawrinka 6-7 (1-7), 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (8-6) — 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 (7-3), 6-3. Berdych was the runnerup to Federer in Madrid, where Djokovic and Nadal lost in the quarterfinals on the blue clay.

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

Ninth-seeded Serena rolled past Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain 6-3, 6-1.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 (7-4), 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 (7-3), 6-2 and will meet Dominika Cibulkova, who advanced at Azarenka's expense.

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F. Marinos reach quarterfinals

TOYAMA — Yuji Ono grabbed the first hat trick of his professional career as Yokohama F Marinos brushed aside third-tier Matsumoto Yamaga 4-0 in an emotionally charged match to advance to the quarterfinals of the Emperor's Cup on Saturday.

The 18-year-old striker opened the scoring after 28 minutes at Toyama Stadium and added a quick-fire double before setting up the fourth for Shunsuke Nakamura to earn Yokohama a meeting in the last eight with either J. League champions Kashiwa Reysol or Nagoya Grampus.

In the day's big upset, holders Kashima Antlers were knocked out in what turned out to be Oswaldo Oliveira's last game in charge, Takumi Miyayoshi's 59th-minute goal earning a 1-0 win for second-division Kyoto Sanga.

The fourth-round tie between Yokohama and Matsumoto brought together the two former clubs of former Japan international defender Naoki Matsuda, who died at age 34 of a heart attack in August after he collapsed during training with Yamaga.

Yamaga's players all wore Matsuda's No. 3 shirt during warmups and the Nagano-based club made a lively start, Tetsuya Kijima testing Hiroki Iikura after just 40 seconds with a shot that the Yokohama goalkeeper managed to gather at the second attempt.

Nagoya and Kashiwa's meeting was pushed back to Wednesday due to Kashiwa's involvement in the Club World Cup.

In another early kickoff an own goal earned promoted FC Tokyo a 1-0 win against Mito Hollyhock.

Elsewhere, Yosuke Kashiwagi sealed a 3-1 win for Urawa Reds against Ehime and Shimizu S-Pulse beat JEF United Chiba 2-0, thanks to goals from Alex Brosque and Sho Ito.

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