Madrid: World number one Roger Federer fought off a determined challenge from an inspired Robin Soderling to beat the Swede 7-6 7-6 and reach the quarter-finals of the Madrid Masters on Thursday.
Defending champion Rafael Nadal produced his customary brand of high-impact tennis to overpower Germany's Tommy Haas 6-4 6-3 and secure his berth in the last four where he will meet Czech number one Tomas Berdych.
Nadal, the only remaining Spaniard in the tournament responded to the vociferous support of a capacity crowd at the Madrid Arena with an aggressive display against Haas, giving the 13th seed little chance as he broke once in the first set and twice in the second.
Federer, who is bidding to win his 10th title of the year, was pushed all the way by the 22-year-old Soderling and needed two tie-breaks and two challenges using the "hawk-eye" replay equipment to shake off his dogged opponent.
Neither player showed any sign of weakness on their serve and both sets went to tie breaks in a fiercely contested match.
Federer was 4-2 down in the second decider and had to save three set points and challenge Soderling's final two shots using the replay equipment as he clinched a 10-8 victory.
"It turned out to be a crazy end and was kind of funny waiting for the result on the match point," said Federer. "But it wouldn't have made a difference to the end result."
He will meet Robby Ginepri in the quarter-finals after the unseeded American upset world number eight Tommy Robredo 6-3 7-6.
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Ankle Problem
Sixth seed Andy Roddick suffered a 7-6 6-3 defeat at the hand of Berdych with the American ending the match complaining of pain in his left ankle.
There was better luck for fourth-seeded Argentine David Nalbandian who won a tight contest against Britain's Tim Henman 6-2 2-6 7-5.
The former British number one served for the match, but Nalbandian managed to stage a successful fightback after the two players exchanged words over each other's service calls.
"It's frustrating but there were a lot of tight points in those last few games," said Henman. "He questioned my sportsmanship, but if we go down that road there is only going to be one winner."
Marat Safin, winner in Madrid in 2004 but unable to defend his title last year because of injury, had few problems seeing off Kristof Vliegen of Belgium 6-3 6-2 and now meets Nalbandian.
Tenth seed Fernando Gonzalez was given a walkover into the quarter-finals after Swede Joachim Johansson withdrew because of a throat infection.
The Chilean will play the winner of the third-round match between British number one Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic of Serbia.
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