Great Britain's Andy Murray will reclaim the no.2 spot in the ATP ranking next week despite losing to Tomas Berdych 6-7, 4-6 in the quarterfinal round of the Mutua Madrid Open.
Murray booked his spot in the final-eight following a pulsating 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (8/6) victory over Frenchman Giles Simon in the third round. The Briton needed roughly three hours and a tiebreaker in the third set to fend off a resilient challenge from Simon on the red dirt of Madrid.
But Thursday's grueling match appeared to have taken a toll on Murray's body, allowing Berdych to easily dismantle the Briton in straight sets.
With Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and now Murray already out in the tourney, Rafael Nadal has emerged as the clear-cut favorite to win the event.
The 5th-seeded Nadal reached the Madrid Masters semifinal after surviving David Ferrer 4-6, 7-6(3), 6-0 in a quarterfinal clash that lasted for two hours and 37 minutes. Nadal, who's looking to win his 9th French Open title, will next take on another Spaniard Pablo Andujar in Saturday's semifinal.
"The favourite, of course, is him," Andujar told ATP World Tour. "I do believe I have more options playing in Madrid because it's a little bit faster. And playing two sets, you cannot tell who's the worst player. You don't see it so clearly. It's true that in two sets the one who's a little bit inferior has the possibility to give the surprise."
Djokovic and Federer were the early casualties in the Masters 1000 clay-court event, losing to a couple of up-and-coming stars.
After winning the Monte Carlo Masters, Djokovic made a quick exit in Madrid after he ousted by Grigor Dimitrov in the second round. Nole is not the only elite player to bow out early in the tourney with Federer losing to Japanese star Kei Nishikori 4-6, 6-1, 2-6.
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