Madrid Quarterfinals

That tremor you felt early this morning was Rafael Nadal flaming out of a clay tournament in the round of 16.  The last time Nadal lost that early at a clay tournament was '08 Rome when he bowed out to Ferrero in the 2nd round.  Fernando Verdasco defeated Nadal 6-3 3-6 7-5, coming from two breaks down in the final set for his first win of Nadal in now 14 tries.  However, I shocking as this defeat is, I am not surprised Nadal did not make the final after all the whining he has done about the blue clay etc.  Also Tsonga lost 7-5 3-6 7-6(2) to Dolgopolov so someone outside the top 5 will reach the final since Djokovic and Federer are on the same side of the draw.  This is the most tumultuous Masters event in some time, especially disincluding Paris, where odd things seemingly happen every year.

Men's Quarterfinalists
1) Novak Djokovic (SRB)
3) Roger Federer (SUI)
5) David Ferrer (ESP)
6) Tomas Berdych (CZE)
7) Janko Tipsarevic (SRB)
10) Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG)
15) Fernando Verdasco (ESP)
16) Alexandr Dolgopolov (UKR)

Tomorrow's matchups:
-Djokovic vs Tipsarevic
-Federer vs Ferrer
-Del Potro vs Dolgopolov
-Berdych vs Verdasco

-Other scorelines worth mentioning are R16 Ferrer def. Almagro 7-6(5) 3-6 7-6(8) and R32 Federer def. Raonic 4-6 7-5 7-6(4)
-Only two seeds lost before R16: 8) Isner (R2 l. to Cilic) and 13) Lopez (R1 l. to Melzer)
-Qualifiers posted a 4-3 first round record with wins by Gimeno-Traver, Delbonis, Andreev, and Falla
-Four quarterfinalists from '11 are back this year:  Djokovic, Federer, Ferrer, and Berdych.  Those that aren't are Soderling (injured), Llodra (R1 l. to Seppi), Bellucci (R1 l. to Gasquet), and of course Nadal (R3 l. to Verdasco).
-This loss by Nadal essentially negates Federer's early loss in Miami for ranking purposes.  Federer can take #2 by winning the title, and will be close enough with a finals appearance that whoever goes farther in Rome will be seeded second in the French Open.
-However, as great as Nadal's exploits are on clay and in particular the tournaments in Monte Carlo, Rome, and Roland Garros, he only won Madrid on clay once ('09), and Hamburg once ('08).

Some havoc has also been wreaked on the women's side, though not nearly as shocking as a Nadal loss perhaps.  Two qualifiers have reached the quarterfinals, joining of 5 of the top 8 seeds plus Serena who some escaped Wozniacki after losing the first set 6-1.  Lucie Hradecka beat Peng, Kvitova, and Markarova to reach the quarters, while Uzbek-American Varvara Lepchenko knocked of Schiavone, Peer, and Medina Garrigues.  But how their roads get infinitely tougher.

Women's Quarterfinalists
1) Victoria Azarenka (BLR)
2) Maria Sharapova (RUS)
4) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL)
5) Samantha Stosur (AUS)
8) Na Li (CHN)
9) Serena Williams (USA)
Q) Varvara Lepchenko (USA)
Q) Lucie Hradecka (CZE)

Tomorrow's matchups:
-Azarenka vs Li
-Radwanska vs Lepchenko
-Stosur vs Hradecka
-Sharapova vs S.Williams

-Other scorelines worth mentioning are R64 V.Williams def. Halep 6-1 4-6 7-6(6), then won only 5 games against Kerber, R32 Radwanska def. Errani 6-0 6-1 ending her clay streak at 16 wins in dramatic fashion
-Just one R32 match went 3 sets, Stosur's 6-0 in the 3rd win over McHale
-Spanish wildcard Muguruza Blanco lost to Li in the first round
-Qualifiers Dominiguez Lino and Hlavackova also won first round matches, meaning qualifiers overall went 4-3 in the first round
-While only two men's seeds lost prior to R16, five women's seeds lost their opening match:  7) Bartoli, 10) Zvonareva, 11) Schiavone, 14) Cibulkova, and 15) Jankovic.  The slide continues for Vera and Francesca.
-Only two quarterfinalists from '11 still remain this year:  Azarenka and Li.  The six the aren't are Kvitova (R2 l. to Hradecka) - defending champion, Goerges (R1 l. to Barthel), Cibulkova (R1 l. to Vinci), Pavlyuchenkova (R2 l. to Serena), Safarova (R3 w/d to Sharapova), and Mattek-Sands (Q1 l. to Chakvetadze)
-Four Spanish women reached the second round, but only Medina Garrigues won after that.