MADRID, Spain -- The slippery blue clay may be gone, but the Madrid Open continues to produce surprises. Second-ranked Roger Federer was ousted by Kei Nishikori of Japan 6-4, 1-6, 6-2 in Thursdays third round, leaving Rafael Nadal as the either the clear front-runner for the title or the next big name who should be wary of an upset. Nadal didnt let his sore knee get in the way of downing Mikhail Youzhny 6-2, 6-3 to reach a quarterfinal with David Ferrer, while third-seeded Andy Murray had to come from behind to edge past Giles Simon 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (6). "Clearly the favourite for this tournament is Nadal," Federer said. Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova -- the top two seeded women-- also reached the quarters in straight sets. Last year, Federer didnt let the slick "Smurf-colored" clay stop him from winning his third title in Madrid. But now with the old-fashioned red clay back at the Caja Magica, Federer only managed to look like the star he is for a spell. Yet Federer wasnt the first highly-ranked player to fall. World No. 1 Novak Djokovic was ousted on Tuesday, a day before Victoria Azarenka followed in a temper tantrum. After recovering from Nishikoris strong start, Federer looked like hed found his stride as he roared back in the second set. But Nishikori reasserted his ground game in the decider, after breaking Federer for a 3-1 advantage, and held on for the surprising victory. Nishikori said beating Federer after losing their only previous meeting was one of the high points of his still burgeoning career. "He was my idol and to beat him was one of the goals for my tennis career," the 16th-ranked Nishikori said. "Beating Roger is, yeah ... I need a couple of days to celebrate." Federer came to Madrid after a seven-week layoff. He said the gusting winds hurt his game, but he gave all credit to Nishikori. "He was the better player today for sure," Federer said. "I was lacking control from the baseline and that carried through from start to finish. Overall Im disappointed with my play." Federer said he will not change his plans and will now train for Rome and then the French Open. This was Nishikoris fourth win over a top-five opponent. Nishikori will next play Pablo Andujar, who advanced when fellow Spaniard Daniel Gimeno-Traver retired. Nadals commanding win over Youzhny featured an array of winning shots. Having already established control by stealing Youzhnys second service game, Nadal kept a point alive with a deft no-look backhand flick before nailing a winner down the line to hold his serve and delight his fans. The fifth-ranked Spaniard then broke Youzhny again by dinking the ball over the net while on the run, giving it so much backspin it twisted away from the Russian. Nadal, who is searching for his seventh straight final since returning from injury, improved to 28 wins and two losses on the year. Nadal said he was still bothered by his left knee, which has sidelined him this year with a nagging case of tendinitis. "Sometimes I have pain," Nadal said. "I try to avoid talking about it as much as possible. With respect to my rivals its not the moment to analyze how I am." Nadals next opponent, Ferrer, outlasted Tommy Haas 7-5, 4-6, 6-4. Murray looked stiff as he conceded the first set to Simon but the Scot improved, and after winning a long game to break back early in the second set, slowly imposed his will. Even so, he squandered five match points before Simon netted his final approach shot in the tiebreaker to end the match in just under three hours. Murray will play Tomas Berdych, who defeated Kevin Anderson of South Africa 7-6 (5), 7-5, to make the final eight. Also, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga beat Fernando Verdasco of Spain 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 to set up a match with Stanislas Wawrinka, who came back to see off Grigor Dimitrov 3-6, 6-4, 6-1. On the womens side, the top-ranked Williams dispatched Maria Kirilenko 6-3, 6-1, after Sharapova put away Germanys Sabine Lisicki 6-2, 7-5. Williams dominant performance made Kirilenko wither after she dropped the first set with one of several unforced errors. "I just felt really relaxed, like I was taking my time," said Williams, adding that she strived for precision over speed on serve. Williams will take on local favourite Anabel Medina Garrigues, who advanced after Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan withdrew with a right arm injury. Sharapova will face Kaia Kanepi of Estonia next after she defeated Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia 6-3, 6-4. Ekaterina Makarova of Russia beat Marion Bartoli 6-3, 6-2 and will play Sara Errani following her 7-5, 6-3 win over Varvara Lepchenko. Angelique Kerber of Germany meets former No. 1 Ana Ivanovic. Mark McGwire Jersey .C. -- Glenn Howard needed an extra end to move into the Masters Grand Slam of Curling final. Orlando Cepeda Jersey . 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Scott Kazmir allowed four hits in seven shutout innings, Michael Brantley hit a two-run homer in a three-run first inning and the Indians maintained their hold on an AL wild-card spot with a 4-1 win over the Houston Astros on Saturday night. MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday accused an Alabama attorney of bilking millions of dollars from professional athletes and others who invested in his companies, saying he instead used the money on personal expenses.The civil complaint filed in federal court in Atlanta says Donald V. Watkins and his companies falsely told investors that their funds would be used to support waste-to-energy ventures and that a prominent national company, Waste Management, was seriously interested in acquiring the businesses. 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The money was invested between 2009 and 2014.Watkins is a businessman, banker and attorney, who has tried to purchase a professional sports franchise. Federal regulators said Watkins touted his 2009 effort to try to buy an NFL franchise in his talks with investors in his two companies. In 2002, Watkins announced plans to try to purchase the Minnesota Twins. Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale Jerseys Free Shipping Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys China Jerseys Wholesale Cheap Jerseys Stitched Jerseys ' ' '