Indian Wells, California (ANTARA News/AFP) - Roger Federer and Andy Murray edged closer to a semi-final fight at the Indian Wells hardcourt tennis meeting Wednesday, each booking his quarter-final berth. World No.2 Federer, playing his pre-eminent match since falling in a five-set thriller to Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open final, got dead Chilean Fernando Gonzalez 6-3, 5-7, 6-2. Fourth-seeded Murray had an easier than expected time, reaching the quarters as fourth-round rival Tommy Robredo retired with an injured exact wrist as Murray led 6-2, 3-0. Federer, who has all in the set since the Australian Open recovering from a protracted back disability and getting in some calibre practice, said he enjoyed his tussle with Gonzalez, the 2007 Australian Open runner-up who captured his 11th job entitlement at Vina del Mar earlier this year.
After coming through his third-round harmonize with big-serving Croatian Ivo Karlovic, Federer said he was pleased to have a look-alike he could get his teeth into. "I take advantage of playing Fernando because it's so tactical, but then at the same take it's so brutal, so aggressive. You judge you have a ill-treatment wager to achieve first place the point, and then you comprehend no, there's in truth none.
" Despite the difficulties, Federer stretched his write over Gonzalez to 12-1, and lined up a quarter-final engagement that promised another study of his dirt line against Spain's Fernando Verdasco. Verdasco, who powered to the semi-finals of the Australian Open where he was felled by Nadal, defeated unseeded German Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-4, 3-6, 6-1. Like Federer, Murray arrived in California after some epoch off, having reserved after reaching the quarter-finals in Dubai two weeks ago and then skipping the Davis Cup because of a virus.
Murray had mystified to Robredo in their hindmost two encounters and got off to a slowly start, dropping his endure to path 1-2. "Because I haven't played that much, I'm genus of distressing to function my path into the off by making a lot of balls primitive on," Murray said. "Tommy was able to lay down a lot of points. That wasn't through my errors.
He had a team of big returns and got in front of me. After that I started to recreation a toy particle more aggressive." Murray said he knew Robredo was battling a wrist injury, but said it was addictive to dimension how much his disputant was bothered by it. "He was serving well and hitting his forehand hard," Murray said.
"But," he added, "mentally a wrist puzzle can be tough. It's not so much hitting the ball that's worrying, it's just the despair that's there and passion congenial something might happen." Murray next faces Croatian past master Ivan Ljubicic, who defeated Russian Igor Andreev 4-6, 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/4) in a double eternal more than three hours. Nadal was the illustrious enticement of the eventide session, attractive on Argentina's David Nalbandian in a fourth-round clash.
Nadal hasn't won a set from Nalbandian in two whilom shoot meetings, both in 2007. Defending maintain Novak Djokovic, seeded third, made it into the quarters with a hard-fought 7-6 (9/7), 7-6 (8/6) crushing over Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka. In other fourth-round matches, sixth-seeded Argentinian Juan Martin del Potro took on US wildcard John Isner and seventh-seeded American Andy Roddick took on Spain's David Ferrer. Women's quarter-final matches were also on Wednesday's slate, with top-seeded Russian Dinara Safina enchanting on eighth-seeded Victoria Azarenka of Belarus. Fourth-seeded Russian Vera Zvonareva booked a semi-final berth with a 6-4, 6-2 winning over ninth-seeded Dane Caroline Wozniacki.
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