Rome: Rafael Nadal became the first player to break John Isner’s serve in nearly a month, and he did it twice in a 6-4, 6-4 win on Thursday to reach the Italian Open quarterfinals. Andy Murray and Serena Williams, meanwhile, both withdrew from the last big warm-up tournament before the French Open, which starts in 10 days. Murray cited fatigue following consecutive clay titles in Munich and Madrid, while Williams said she has been struggling with a right elbow injury.
Nadal will next face eighth-seeded Stan Wawrinka, who beat Dominic Thiem of Austria 7-6 (3), 6-4. Also advancing was seventh-seeded David Ferrer, who defeated Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-1, 6-3. Ferrer’s quarterfinal opponent will be David Goffin of Belgium, who advanced when Murray pulled out.
In women’s action, second-seeded Simona Halep routed 1999 Rome champion Venus Williams 6-2, 6-1; two-time champion Maria Sharapova beat Bojana Jovanovski 6-3, 6-3; and 10th-seeded Carla Suarez Navarro defeated 10th-seeded Eugenie Bouchard 6-7 (2), 7-5, 7-6 (7).
