2015 Western and Southern Open: Federer, Djokovic and Murray advance in the last eight, Nadal falls to compatriot Feliciano Lopez

Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Murray headline quarterfinal blockbuster matches at the 2015 Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati after winning their respective third round games on Thursday (EDT). Rafael Nadal, on the other hand, failed to come through with three-set loss to fellow compatriot Feliciano Lopez.

Making his 15^th appearance in Cincinnati, defending champion Federer beat Kevin Anderson in straight sets in his quest to win his seventh Cincinnati title 6-1 6-1 extending his head-to-head record 4-0 over the South African player. The 17-time Swiss grand slam champion is playing his first tournament since losing to Djokovic for second consecutive time in the finals at the All England Club. He boasts a 37-4 record in Cincinnati since 2005. Federer won the Western & Southern Open in 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, and 2012.

Federer, who turned 34 on Aug. 8, will face Feliciano Lopez for a place in the last four of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Masters 1000 event. Lopez progressed in the next round after scoring a stunning upset of 2013 champion Rafael Nadal 5-7 6-4 7-6.

Nadal, who had been fighting through a mental struggle this season, said that the loss was a tough one for him. Speaking after his third round match, the Spanish tennis star said that he entered the match with the right mindset, but Lopez displayed a fantastic match.

“He (Lopez) played the best match ever against me, without a doubt,” Nadal said in a report by ATPWorldTour.com. “For me, it’s a tough loss because I was playing better and my feelings on court were better than they were before.”

Lopez has now won in his last two encounters with Nadal. He previously defeated the 14-time grand slam champion in the hard courts of Shanghai in 2014 6-3 7-6(6).

Djokovic also moved on to the quarterfinal after defeating 13^th-seed David Goffin 6-4 2-6 6-3 and set up clash with Stan Wawrinka, who beat him earlier this year at the Roland Garros. Wawrinka managed to come through Ivo Karlovic test and beat the 36-year-old in three tiebreak sets 6-7 7-6 7-6.

Murray, who is coming off from winning his third Rogers Cup title, defeated 16^th-seed Grigor Dimitrov 4-6 7-6 7-5 to advance in Cincinnati. He will play Richard Gasquet in the quarters, who beat reigning US Open champion Marin Cilic in straight sets 7-5 6-3.

Sixth-seeded Czech tennis star Tomas Berdych also won his match against Tommy Robredo 6-0 6-1 to book a meeting with qualifier Alexander Dolgopolov, who beat Jerzy Janowicz 6-3 3-6 6-4.

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