DUBAI, United Arab Emirates—Roger Federer maintained his perfect record against Fernando Verdasco to reach the Dubai Championships quarterfinals on Wednesday, while top-seeded Kei Nishikori was eliminated.
Federer converted his first match point when Verdasco sent a forehand wide, finishing off a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 win that improved his record against the Spaniard to 7-0. Nishikori, though, lost 7-5, 5-7, 6-2 against Hubert Hurkacz of Poland.
This was win No. 50 for Federer in Dubai, having won the tournament seven times.
“It’s a big number,” the 37-year-old Federer said when told it was his 50th win. “I’m not sure if I’m going to get to 100. Let’s put it that way.”
He’s only three matches away from a 100th tournament title, though, and will next face Marton Fucsovics of Hungary, who beat Jan-Lennard Struff of Germany, 6-4, 6-2.
Federer has only played Fucsovics once, at last year’s Australian Open, but has trained with him in Zurich and said he’s been impressed with the Hungarian’s game.
“I know Marton quite well actually,” Federer said. “He’s improved. He likes the fast surfaces. He likes to play up in the court. He has the power when required. I think it’s going to be definitely a match that’s going to test me tomorrow.”
The second-seeded Federer is now an even bigger favorite for the title with Nishikori out. It was Hurkacz’s first win against a top-10 ranked player and earned him a place in his first Association of Tennis Professionals tour quarterfinal.
“It’s a huge win for me,” Hurkacz said. “It gives me huge confidence. I’m going to try to keep going forward.”
NADAL TUMBLES OUT IN MEXICAN OPEN
RAFAEL NADAL tumbled out of the Mexican Open on Wednesday night in Acapulco, squandering three match points in a 3-6, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (6) loss to Australia’s Nick Kyrgios.
Playing his first event since losing to Novak Djokovic in late January in the Australian Open final, the top-seeded Nadal dropped the first two match points on Kyrgios’s serve and the last one on his own first serve.
Nadal won in Acapulco in 2005 and 2013. On Tuesday night, the second-ranked Spanish star opened play with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Mischa Zverev.
Kyrgios set up a quarterfinal match against Stan Wawrinka, a 7-6 (5), 6-4 winner over seventh-seeded Steve Johnson in the hard-court event at The Princess Mundo Imperial.
The top seed also fell in the women’s event, with Brazilian qualifier Beatriz Haddad Maia beating Sloane Stephens, 6-3, 6-3, for her first victory in seven career matches against players ranked in the top 10. The fourth-ranked Stephens, the 2017 US Open, was making her first appearance in the event since winning the 2016 title.
“It was just a tough match, obviously she played well,” Stephens said. “A tough day. But I’m not too sad about it. I’m just going to go back and work some more, practice some more and get ready for Indian Wells.”
Haddad Maia will face Wang Yafan in the quarterfinals. Wang led Monica Puig, 4-1, when Puig retired because of an injury.
In men’s play, second-seeded Alexander Zverev faced David Ferrer in the late match. The winner will play fifth-seeded Alex de Minaur, a winner over Feliciano Lopez in a walkover.
Third-seeded John Isner beat fellow American Sam Querrey, 6-4, 6-4, to set up a quarterfinal match against eighth-seeded John Millman. Millman beat Peter Gojowczyk, 6-0, 6-2.
Cameron Norrie beat fourth-seeded Diego Schwartzman, 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-3. Norrie will face Mackenzie McDonald, a 6-7 (7), 7-5, 6-3 winner over sixth-seeded Frances Tiafoe.
Defending champion Juan Martin del Potro is sidelined by a knee injury.
SHARAPOVA PULLS OUT OF MIAMI OPEN
MARIA SHARAPOVA said she has undergone a “small procedure” on her right shoulder that will need a few weeks to heal, requiring her to pull out of next month’s Miami Open.
Sharapova said she’s struggled since last summer with shoulder pain caused by a fraying tendon and small labrum tear. She tried unsuccessfully to solve the problem with exercise.
“Although this has been a very long process, I am incredibly committed to getting back strong, and more importantly without the pain I was playing with at the beginning of this year,” she wrote on Wednesday on Instagram.
The five-time Grand Slam champion hasn’t played since pulling out of a tournament in St. Petersburg, Russia, in late January after winning her first-round match. She won three matches at the Australian Open and is ranked 29th.
Image credits: AP