Nadal, top seeds advance in Doha

Jan 7, 2009 - 8:12 PM DOHA, Qatar (Ticker) -- Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray all cruised into the quarterfinals of the Qatar Open on Wednesday.

The top-ranked Nadal had the easiest win of the trio, beating qualifier Karol Beck, 6-1, 6-2.

The Spaniard did not hit the heights of Tuesday's victory over Fabrice Santoro, where he dropped only one game, but he again raced through the first set, breaking the Beck serve three times.

The Slovakian fought back impressively at the start of the second set, breaking the Nadal serve, but his advantage was short-lived as Nadal won six games in a row to ease to victory.

"It's been two very good matches to start the year and I am happy with how I am playing," said Nadal, who won the French Open and Wimbledon in 2008. "Winning 6-0, 6-1 and 6-1, 6-2, I did not expect that."

Nadal is likely to be tested in his quarterfinal with Gael Monfils, a semifinalist at the French Open last year.

The fifth-seeded Monfils was given a stern examination by fellow Frenchman Nicolas Devilder before coming through 7-5, 7-6 (7-4).

Federer, the second seed, brushed aside Italy's Andreas Seppi, 6-3, 6-3.

"I like to play here, I have won twice and I feel comfortable," said Federer, a champion here in 2005 and 2006. "The conditions were better today with less wind and it was warmer."

The 13-time Grand Slam champion will next face eighth seed Philipp Kohlschreiber, a 6-4, 6-7 (4-7), 6-4 winner over German Kristof Vliegen.

Murray, the defending champion, continued his smooth progress through the draw with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Germany's Philipp Petzschner.

The 21-year-old third seed matched his win over Albert Montanes on Tuesday and will now face Ukrainian Sergiy Stakhovsky, a 7-5, 6-3 winner over Austria's Alexander Peya.

"I have played Stakhovsky before in Davis Cup and he plays a bit like Petzschner, maybe he goes to the net more often," Murray said. "I played a solid match today and I am especially happy with the way I served."

Fourth seed Andy Roddick battled to a 6-3, 7-5 victory over France's Arnaud Clement in a match lasting 1 hour, 43 minutes.

The American got the better of a topsy-turvy first set while a single break in the 11th game of the second proved crucial, although Roddick still had to come back from 0-40 in the final game to clinch the win.

"It was a closer second set, but I feel like I was in control of the match," Roddick said.

Roddick will next face Romania's Victor Hanescu, who beat Mikhail Youzhny, 6-2, 6-4. It was a surprisingly easy victory for the world No. 48 against the Russian, who was ranked in the top 10 less than a year.