TENNIS in DEPTH.

The 34-year-old German, a wild card entrant, had not reached the quarter-finals of an ATP World Tour event on clay for three years but he needed less than an hour to dump out world number five Tsonga 6-1 6-4. In the last eight Haas will meet eighth seed Marcos Baghdatis, who was given a torrid time by German qualifier Dustin Brown in the first set before recovering to win 1-6 6-4 6-4. Sixth seed Mikhail Youzhny also had to come from a set down against Colombian Santiago Giraldo, the Russian eventually prevailing 6-7 (2/7) 6-4 6-4 to set up a meeting with Croatia’s Marin Cilic, who was a comfortable 6-3 6-2 winner over Matthias Bachinger today.

Stanislas Wawrinka and Richard Gasquet wasted little time in reaching the quarter-finals of the Estoril Open in Portugal today. Second seed Gasquet was particularly impressive, losing only two games in his 6-1 6-1 victory over Paolo Lorenzi, while third seed Wawrinka had a trickier time in the first set against qualifier Ivan Navarro before coming through 7-6 (7/5) 6-1. In the last eight Wawrinka will face Dutch sixth seed Robin Haase, who dropped the opening set to another qualifier, Inigo Cervantes, but recovered to win 5-7 6-4 6-2. Awaiting Frenchman Gasquet is Spanish qualifier Daniel Munoz-De La Nava following his 6-4 6-4 victory over eighth seed Flavio Cipolla, while in the final first-round match America’s Bobby Reynolds beat Attila Balazs of Hungary 6-3 6-4.

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The 6ft 5in 21-year-old from Ontario, who crushed sixth seed Nicolas Almagro in the last round, headed into the match having never beaten a top-eight player but rarely looked overawed en route to a 6-4 7-6 (7/3) triumph. He endured a minor blip when serving for the second set, allowing second seed Murray his first break of the match, before breezing through the tie-break to clinch the biggest win of his fledgling career in one hour 44 minutes. Raonic will face third seed David Ferrer or seventh seed Feliciano Lopez in the semi-finals, the Spanish duo meeting in the second quarter-final in Catalonia.

Murray had little difficulty in the last round against Santiago Giraldo, but knew he was in for a battle from the outset today. Raonic’s fierce forehands helped him bring up a break point in the opening game. Murray survived, but two aces from the world number 25 swiftly levelled things up. The first set followed a similar pattern – Murray tested on serve and Raonic holding with ease – until game seven, when a loose drop shot from the Scot resulted in a second break point for the youngster, and this time he capitalised to go 4-3 up. Raonic comfortably held again to move within a game of the set and then, after Murray had dug out the hold with the help of an ace, the Canadian brought up three set points with his ninth ace and duly took the first with a forehand winner. Having managed only four points on the Raonic serve in the first set, Murray looked brighter at the start of the second set, but continued to struggle to make inroads against the serve. The Scot served out to love in game three himself, though, and then took Raonic to deuce in game four before the Canadian pulled through with another huge serve. A superb cross-court winner edged Murray ahead again and again he then troubled the Raonic serve, but could not force the break. Just when the second set looked to be following the same format as the first, Raonic too passed up two break-point opportunities in game seven as Murray squeezed 4-3 ahead. But, after powering through another strong service game, Raonic broke Murray to give himself the chance to serve for the match and claim the biggest scalp of his career. Murray showed his battling qualities by breaking back, though, before two clinical service games took the match into a tie-break. However, if the Scot thought nerves were getting to Raonic, he was sadly mistaken. He cruised into a 5-1 lead and, although Murray engineered a chink of light by taking his two points on serve, there was no way back.

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Andy Murray saw his Monte Carlo Masters challenge end at the quarter-final stage following a long tussle with sixth seed Tomas Berdych. The Scot took the first set on a tie-break, but was unable to build on his lead as his Czech opponent hit back for a 6-7 (4/7) 6-2 6-3 victory after nearly three hours on court. Berdych will now face either world number one Novak Djokovic or Robin Haase in the semi-finals.

Murray and Berdych had met just once before on clay in five previous meetings, with the latter securing a convincing win at the 2010 French Open. There was little to separate the two players early in the opening set in Monte Carlo, but Murray’s second serve then began to let him down and Berdych found himself with the first break points of the match in the eighth game. Murray saved the first with a drop shot, before Berdych wasted the next two with a forehand and a backhand into the net. The Scot then faced five more break points in game 12 as Berdych looked to claim the set, but the Czech failed to take any of them and a tie-break ensued. This time it was Murray who had the mini-break to open up a 6-2 lead. And the third seed gained the advantage on his third set point with Berdych hitting a return long. Berdych came back strongly at the start of the second set, though, and finally claimed his first break of the match in the third game when Murray put a weak forehand into the net. And a further break followed for the Czech four games later, when another poor shot from Murray gifted Berdych a 5-2 lead before he served out his next service game to level the match. Murray was looking slightly deflated now, and it was no surprise when his opponent broke again in the opening game of the third set. The third seed responded by gaining his first break point of the match in the next game and a wide forehand from Berdych levelled things up. But Murray’s serve continued to let him down and his Czech opponent got his nose in front once more in the third game following another error from the Briton. Murray fought hard to get back into the contest, but his confidence appeared to be down and Berdych wrapped up another break, and the match, with a winning forehand down the line.

Berdych told Sky Sports 1 afterwards: “It was another tough but really good match. ”It’s tough to say what was key. I’m trying to play my game, trying to play aggressive. That’s key for my game and if it’s working I have the game to beat anybody, even Andy. ”The win over Andy gives me a lot of confidence for the next match.”

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Novak Djokovic and defending champion Rafel Nadal both eased into the last 16 of the Monte Carlo Masters after kicking off their clay court campaigns with straight-set wins on Wednesday. Top seed Djokovic, who is yet to win the ATP 1000 Masters event, encountered few concerns in his opening match as he overcame unranked Italian Andreas Seppi 6-1 6-4 in the second round. Seven-time defending champion Nadal then followed Djokovic on court to register a 6-4 6-3 triumph over Finland’s Jarkko Nieminen.

Kicking off his title challenge, Djokovic raced into a 4-0 lead after 19 minutes before Seppi avoided an opening set bagel with a gutsy hold in the sixth game. The Serb broke in the third game of the second set and with Seppi unable to make any impression against serve, closed out the match in 89 minutes. Awaiting Djokovic in round three is Alexandr Dolgopolov after the Ukrainian 16th seed overcame Monte Carlo-based Bernard Tomic 6-2 5-7 6-1.

‘King of Clay’ Nadal extended his remarkable winning streak at Monte Carlo Country Club to 38 matches with a typically-assured win over unseeded Nieminen. The Spaniard belied any pre-tournament injury fears with a commanding display which ensures he remains undefeated against fellow left-handers on clay. Next up for Nadal will be a third round meeting with Mikhail Kukushkin, a 7-6 (10/8) 2-6 6-3 victor over Italy’s Filippo Volandri.

Also on Wednesday, number seven seed seed Janko Tipsarevic raced past Spaniard Albert Montanes 6-2 6-3 and two home players also progressed. Gilles Simon powered past Portugal’s Frederico Gil 6-3 6-0, while Andy Murray’s third round opponent has been confirmed as Julien Benneteau after he recorded an impressive 6-4 6-3 (9/7) success over Austrian 15th seed Jurgen Melzer.

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Ivan Ljubicic bowed out of professional tennis tamely on Sunday with a straight-sets defeat in the first round of the Monte Carlo Masters. The former world number three managed to win just three games during the clash against fellow Croatian Ivan Dodig, losing 6-0 6-3 in an hour and 11 minutes to the 59th-ranked player. Afterwards, in a post-match ceremony on court, he was given a special award by ATP boss Brad Drewett and tournament director Zeljko Franulovic. And the 33-year-old was clearly overcome with emotion as some of his career highlights, including victory at Indian Wells in 2010 and a tribute from Roger Federer, were broadcast on the court’s giant screen.

“I felt like it could end up emotional but I didn’t expect it this big, this emotional,” said Ljubicic. “Obviously, it’s the end of something beautiful for me. ”It was a tough day for me both on the court and off the court. I knew my mind was everywhere else but on the tennis court.” Famous for his bald head and his ability to play on all surfaces, Ljubicic, whose best year came in 2005 when he reached two Masters Series finals and won the Davis Cup, had announced he would play his last event at home in Monte Carlo. ”For me, it’s a special place,” he added. “In 1999, big tennis started here for me, qualifying, beating Andrei Medvedev and Yevgeny Kafelnikov. ”In a way, to wrap it up and finish off here… I think it was the right place to do that.”

Dodig said he had taken little pleasure in beating a player he had considered a mentor in the final match of his 15-year career. ”I think this is the first time that I’m not happy to win the match,” he said “All players like me, like Mario Ancic, we learnt from him.”

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Michael Russell recorded the biggest win of his career as the qualifier beat top seed Mardy Fish 6-3 6-1 in the last 16 of the US Men’s Clay Court Championship. The 33-year-old, who lives in Houston, was dominant in every department, winning 70 per cent of points on first serve and breaking his compatriot five times to claim his first-ever win over a top-10 player. He will now face fellow American Ryan Harrison after the teenager beat Russia’s Igor Kunitsyn 6-2 6-4.

Second seed John Isner avoided an upset by battling back to secure a 6-7 (3/7) 6-4 6-2 win over Horacio Zeballos. That sent Isner through to an all-American quarter-final against defending champion Ryan Sweeting, who beat compatriot Bobby Reynolds 6-3 6-2.

Fourth seed Juan Monaco is through after a routine 6-3 6-3 win over Tatsuma Ito, however fifth-ranked Kevin Anderson had to dig deep before overcoming Sam Querrey 7-6 (7-3) 3-6 7-6 (7-2).

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John Isner, who won his two Davis Cup matches against France last weekend in Monte Carlo and is playing the U.S. Men’s Clay Courts this week in Houston, will pull out of next week’s ATP Masters 1000 event in Monte Carlo. ”I will go back home [to Florida after Houston] and work with my coach, Craig Boynton,” Isner told reporters. “I need to get in better shape if I want to do good in these next two majors coming up and Masters events [in Madrid and Rome]. I need to be in better shape, put my head down, go back to work and get my body right.”

Isner, who has beaten three players in the Top 6 in the last two months—Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga—believes his game has advanced leaps and bounds. ”I feel like I’m a much better player. I’m a more improved player, I’m a more confident player; to compete at this level and do well you have to be confident that’s what I have on my side. I know confidence can come and go and I think I proved that throughout the course of 2012 so far. I think that match against Roger in Switzerland certainly I played close to my highest level on clay, away with 7,500 people cheering against us; I played the right way and I kind of realized at that point that’s how I need to play. I’ve tried to stay engaged I’d like to think I’m sort of a nightmare to play.”

During Davis Cup, Isner cheered on fellow former Georgia Bulldog Bubba Watson, who won the Masters golf tournament.

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Real Madrid have confirmed that tennis stars Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal will play a charity exhibition match at their Bernabeu Stadium on July 14. The event is to raise money for the Realmadrid Foundation and the Rafa Nadal Foundation, which both use sport as a tool to encourage social integration. It is hoped the chance to see the top two players in the world in action will attract a crowd in excess of 80,000 people, and it will be a particularly special occasion for Nadal, who is a passionate Real Madrid fan. A statement on the Real Madrid website read: “The pitch at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium will turn into a tennis court on 14 July for a charity match between Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic. ”It will be organised by the Realmadrid Foundation and the Rafa Nadal Foundation, hoping to gather a record 80,000+ crowd and collect proceeds for projects developed by both foundations.” Djokovic and Nadal were the finalists in this year’s first Grand Slam in Australia. Serbian Djokovic prevailed 5-7 6-4 6-2 6-7 (5-7) 7-5 in an epic contest lasting five hours and 53 minutes, making it the longest final in Grand Slam history.

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