Madrid Open 2012 Live: Federer vs Ferrer, Djokovic vs Tipsarevic

World no. 3 and two-time Madrid champion Roger Federer advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2012 Mutua Madrid Open by beating Estoril finalist Richard Gasquet. The Swiss star saw off the Frenchman 6-3, 6-2 and his opponent for a place in the semi-finals will be Spain's no.2 player David Ferrer. The Spanaird won an incredible match against his countryman Nicolás Almagro in which he had to survive two match points. The top two Serbian players, both in the top 10, world no.1 Novak Djokovic and no. 8 Janko Tipsarevic won their second-round matches and will now meet in the quarters. Watch Madrid Open 2012 live online here featuring Federer vs Ferrer, Djokovic vs Tipsarevic on Friday, May 11.

In dismissing Gasquet, Swiss 16-time Grand Slam champion raced through the match in 58 minutes, hitting 31 winners and breaking the Frenchman three times from six opportunities. Federer faced down one break point in the final game and proceeded to clinch the victory with an ace. Gasquet, a finalist last week at the Estoril Open where he lost to Del Potro, had defeated Federer in two of their three previous clay-court meetings coming into Thursday’s match.

After Fernando Verdasco’s surprise victory over Rafa Nadal in the Mutua Madrid Open, an all Spanish affair between David Ferrer and Nicolás Almagro turned dramatic after Ferrer saved three match points to take his record against fellow Spaniard Nicolas Almagro to a perfect 10-0. He fought off match points down 5-6, 6-7 and 7-8 in the tie-break, before putting away the win on his first match point opportunity 7-6(5), 3-6, 7-6(8) after two hours and 53 minutes. Federer leads Ferrer 12-0 in their career matches. They have met four times on clay, most recently in the Madrid semi-finals two years ago.

There will be two Serbs in the remaining quarter-final clash, Novak Djokovic and Janko Tipsarevic. Both of them were made to work for their victories however, with the world no. 1 forced into a tie-break against Stanislas Wawrinka after an extremely tight first set. The Swiss player’s intensity levels dropped in the second set and the reigning champion was able to kill off the encounter 7-6, 6-4. His fellow countryman Tipsarevic will face him next after beating Gilles Simon, the last remaining French player in the competition, 7-6, 5-7, 6-1. Djokovic is looking to become the first player to successfully defend the Madrid title. World No. 8 Tipsarevic is making his second main draw appearance in Madrid, after falling in the first round of his debut in 2009 (l. to Fish). He has a 1-4 head-to-head record against Djokovic, whom he last faced this past March in the Dubai quarter-finals.

Fernando Verdasco, the No. 15 seed, broke a 13-match losing streak against his Spanish compatriot, Rafael Nadal, the second seed and 2005, 2010 champion on Thursday at the Mutua Madrid Open. Verdasco recorded his first victory over Nadal with a 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 win in three hours and 11 minutes. Nadal led 5-2 in the deciding set and twice served for the match. Nadal recovered from 0/30 at 5-6 and saved one match point at 30/40 with an ace down the middle, but Verdasco converted his second match point opportunity with a powerful forehand winner. The Madrid-born player made a spectacular comeback in the last set to defeat the two-time champion of the Mutua Madrid Open for the first time in his career and make it through to the quarter finals. Verdasco's quarter-finals opponent will be Tomas Berdych.

Alexandr Dolgopolov, who defeated fourth-seed Jo-Wilfred Tsonga and Juan Martín del Potro are also through. Watch Madrid Open 2012 live online through TennisTv.com featuring Federer vs Ferrer, Djokovic vs Tipsarevic on Friday, May 11.