TOKYO (AP) — Top-seeded Rafael Nadal advanced to the quarterfinals of the Japan Open with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Milos Raonic of Canada on Thursday.
Nadal, ranked No. 2 in the world, will take on unseeded Santiago Giraldo of Colombia in the final eight. Giraldo beat Dmitry Tursunov of Russia 6-4, 7-6 (4) earlier.
Nadal, the defending champion, got in 77 percent of his first serves in the victory and Raonic was not able to gain a single break point against the 10-time Grand Slam champion.
In other matches, third-seeded David Ferrer of Spain advanced with a 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 victory over Australian qualifier Matthew Ebden. Ferrer will next face Radek Stepanek after the Czech beat Marco Chiudinelli of Switzerland 7-5, 6-7 (5), 6-1.
Second-seeded American Andy Roddick plays compatriot Alex Bogomolov Jr. in a late match.
