Rafael Nadal sat down with the media after his fourth round win over Alexandr Dolgopolov. Nadal answered questions about today’s rain delay, the conditions out on the court due to the high humidity and his next round match with Tomas Berdych. Here is his interview with the media.

Q. The weather today, did that cause you any disruptions, or just you know what you have to do in those sort of situations? ​

RAFAEL NADAL: No, you know, be calm and wait. That’s all. Nothing else. You can’t do a lot of things in days like today. Relax in the players’ lounge, be with the friends. That’s it. ​It’s nothing new. It’s something that happen a lot of times in the tennis. ​

Q. Playing Alexandr today, did you feel that he was maybe a little bit tired having to finish off against Tsonga today? ​

RAFAEL NADAL: I don’t know. I don’t know if he was tired or not, but you can ask him, I think. But maybe is possible, no? But I think when we play matches, fiveset matches in Grand Slam is more than what he had. ​So I think probably is not easy play end of the match and after start of the match. That’s sure. But that’s part of the game, no? It happen to me a few times, and I think in general I played at very good level, no? ​Probably he had more mistakes than usual, but I don’t know if because he was little bit tired or not. ​

Q. Did you find the conditions heavy because of the rain from earlier on? ​

RAFAEL NADAL: No, heavy, very humid. That’s why I am sweating a lot. ​

Q. What about playing Tomas in the next round? ​

RAFAEL NADAL: Difficult match always, no? We know each other. We played a lot of times, and I know just play my best tennis I gonna have chances against him, no? ​He can play very, very good, and I have to play very solid all the time with my serve and wait a chance on the return. ​

Q. One question about being an ambassador for Bacardi. I was just wondering, was that a difficult decision, seeing that alcohol and sponsorship for alcohol might be a little strange for some people? Or was it more you saw the good it can do with the company? ​

RAFAEL NADAL: Did you see the campaign? ​

Q. Yeah. ​

RAFAEL NADAL: So, I mean, I am not presenting alcohol party, you know. It’s a responsible campaign, a social campaign. ​Anyway, I think alcohol is inside our lives, so is nothing new, no? But the campaign is not against alcohol but about be responsible when you go out. ​So wasn’t difficult decision, because I think is very important social campaign, and I believe in this campaign. So it was a very easy decision, because I think is very good thing to do for Bacardi.

World number two Novak Djokovic sat down with the press on Sunday night after rolling through James Blake in under 53 minutes. Djokovic responded to questions about staying focused during a one sided match, Viktor Troicki, and Davis Cup. Here is his complete interview with the media.

Q. The matches are going so quickly. I mean, are you getting enough time on the court? Would you rather be tested or not?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: No, I’m fine like this. (Smiling.)To be honest, you know, you know, I’m getting to every match with a lot of focus, a lot of dedication, a lot of professionalism, trying to not take any opponent for granted, not underestimate any opponent, and be aggressive from the start and try to be in the control the match.Today was great, again. Another great match. Just good that I get the job done quickly.

Q. Is it hard to stay focused when it’s kind of a one‑sided match?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: No. I mean, look, when things are going well you obviously get more confidence, and with confidence you get more ability to hit shots and more freedom to hit shots.
So I am focused. There is no lack of focus, definitely.

Q. Do you ever start thinking, like, Wow, how long can this go on?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: No. To be honest, I’m taking one match at a time and trying to win against the opponent that I have today and not thinking about what happened or what can happen. So staying really professional.

Q. Isn’t he one of your best friends, the guy you play next, Viktor?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Yes.

Q. Is he your best friend or one of your best friends?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Yes, in tennis, off tennis, as well. It’s never easy. We’ve played I think in last six months, if we played on seven tournaments that we played together, out of seven tournaments we played six times.

Q. Really?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Yes. And this is probably the seventh time in a row. So it’s incredible, really. This year we’ve played in Australia and Indian Wells and now here. More or less three out of four tournaments we played together. It’s never easy to play your friend, but we’re both professionals. We both want to win the match.

Q. How long have you known him? What’s your friendship…

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: We have known each other since we were nine. First tournament in my life that I’ve played, I won my first match and then I lost to him.

Q. Oh, yeah?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: And he gave me a bagel. It was up to nine games. It was 9‑0. I still have video of that match, and we still joke around a little bit. We have been through a lot of things together, and one of the nice experiences was definitely the European Championship that we won together as a team junior under‑18, and then of course the Davis Cup last year. So as a team we have been through a lot.

Q. How big a factor is winning the Davis Cup, do you think?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Huge. The best, biggest achievement ever for me and for all the teammates from Serbia. It’s by far the biggest achievement. It’s by far the best feeling we have experienced on the court. Nothing I can ever can compare with that, because you get to share the success with your teammates and you get to share it with the whole country. You’re representing your country, so it gives a special feeling about it.

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World number one Rafael Nadal sat down with the press this afternoon at the Sony Ericsson Open.  Nadal answered questions about Roger, Federer, Novak Djokovic, Juan Martin Del Potro and issues with his serve at Indian Wells.  On the social media front, Nadal has no plans to join Twitter at the moment. Here is his complete interview with the media.

Q. I know you’ve won almost everything in this sport, but not Miami. Is this kind of one you’d like to get? I think you’ve won 6 out of 9 Masters?

RAFAEL NADAL: No, I play every tournament with the same motivation. It’s always play well and then I gonna have a good result. In this tournament I think I had two finals, another semifinal. So I had the chances; I didn’t win. Is impossible win in every place. I just accept the challenge and try to play my best tennis. That’s only way to win the tournament where all the best players of the world are playing.

Q. Is it tougher than most because it comes right after Indian Wells and you always seem to go deep into that draw?

RAFAEL NADAL: No. No, I don’t think so.

Q. Did you consider playing in the soccer game the other night? I know you went to watch. Did you consider playing?

RAFAEL NADAL: I would love, you know, but for me is important ‑ probably most important ‑ part of the season right now since Indian Wells until Wimbledon. I had the knees problems and seriously, I don’t want any risk right now, no?

Q. What did you think of the game? We heard that Andy Murray and Baghdatis were the best players.

RAFAEL NADAL: I didn’t see all the game, because I had to work with a sponsor in another place. But they told me, yeah. But remain the star, remain me. (Laughing.) No, seriously, Baghdatis and Murray told me ‑‑ Djokovic told me that Baghdatis and Murray was playing unbelievable. They lost 5‑2, so, anyway, important thing is not the result, is the charity of the event. I think was really good because the crowd was full there, very good atmosphere. After in the dinner with Nole, I was there supporting the dinner, too. So I think was fantastic, too. That’s important, always be active in these charity events, especially for Japan at this moment.

Q. About 10 years ago you probably would have been one of the taller players on the tour. Now you play guys like Querrey and Isner, Raonic and even Djokovic and these guys are 6’3″ and higher. Do you feel like the game is going in that direction? Just gonna get taller and taller? Is it tougher to play against these guys, too?

RAFAEL NADAL: Yeah, but the best players of the world play from the baseline. That’s true. Djokovic is very good from the baseline. Federer is very good from the baseline. Myself. Last couple of years, my best quality is from the baseline. Murray is from the baseline. Soderling, too. Davydenko, too, Berdych, too. That’s true, is coming ‑‑ Del Potro is the only one, but he’s characteristic is from the baseline, too. Is true that the game is coming very tall guys, but at the end of the day, I think the best players of the world and the players who are in the top are players who plays from the baseline. Is true is not easy play against Isner, against Karlovic, against Raonic, but we will see if that is the right way to be in the top. I don’t know.

Q. Is there anything that you notice from your game at Indian Wells that you feel you could improve on in this tournament?

RAFAEL NADAL: A lot of things. (Smiling.) I think during the tournament I didn’t play really good. It wasn’t a good level for me. Semifinals and final I improved my level of tennis, but during the final my serve worked terrible. So that’s the first thing. I have to serve better if I want to have chances to compete against all the players. And from the baseline, seriously, I think I finished the tournament playing much better than the beginning of the tournament. So that’s always a very positive thing.

Q. Did you and Toni work on your serve? Did you find out what was wrong with it?

RAFAEL NADAL: We hope so, but we never know. (Smiling.) We gonna see tomorrow how it works hopefully better.

Q. What is it that you love about playing tennis?

RAFAEL NADAL: I love the competition. Yeah. I love the support in general, all the sports. Tennis is my sport, so I like the tennis and especially I love the competition.

Q. What is your perception of Djokovic? Over the years he was joking, doing impersonations, this and that. He’s still very funny, but he seems to have tried to tone down a little bit maybe. He’s playing very, very, very well now. What is your relationship with him? What do you think the perception of him among the players is?

RAFAEL NADAL: My relationship with him always was fantastic. We are close. I think he’s a funny guy, but he’s not playing now better because he’s not doing his imitations or these things. That’s for sure. You know, always the people, when somebody is playing very well, try to found the things outside of the tennis. Seriously, the only thing what matters is what’s happen inside the court. Outside the court you can do imitations all the day, or you can do anything. You can’t go out every night, that’s for sure, no? But you can do anything. You can have a really normal life and play very well or play very bad. That doesn’t affect inside the court.

What he’s doing well is he’s playing with confidence. His level probably is not much higher than three years ago or two years ago or one year ago. I always saw him as fantastic player. His potential always was very, very high. Everybody knows how good is him, and he can do what he’s doing now. He started the season like in 2008 and was the same. So is nothing new. We will see what’s going on. I think he’s a very complete player because he can play on all of the surfaces very good, and that’s an advantage. He started better than possible, so he’s in a very good position.
But the season always is long, and we will see what is going on.

Q. Novak recently joined Twitter. You’re very present on Facebook. Do you have any plans to join Twitter?

RAFAEL NADAL: Not for the moment. I happy with the Facebook. I don’t know. No, for me is enough for the moment.

Q. I want to ask you also about the Bacardi, the thing you’re involved in with drinking responsibly. Can you talk about that? I wasn’t at the event, but can you just tell us a little about that, the campaign.

RAFAEL NADAL: I think is a very important social campaign, especially I think for everybody, but for the young people more. The campaign is champions drink responsibly, but is a social campaign about if you have to go out, have a plan how to come back home safely. Is a campaign about if you go out, you don’t need to drink crazy. You can drink few glasses of alcohol, but drink alcohol‑free and drink water. Is important quality than quantity. That is the campaign, no? For sure I think everybody knows when you go out and you go for party with your friends, alcohol is part of that, part of the night. But sometimes seems like you go out and you have to drink like crazy. In my opinion, that’s not like this. That’s the campaign. I think it’s important campaign. I’m very happy to be the ambassador.

World number two Novak Djokovic sat down with the press this afternoon at the Sony Ericsson Open.  Djokovic answered questions about soccer, Juan Martin Del Potro, and Andy Roddick.  He also commented on his recent entry into the social media outlets of Twitter and Facebook. Here is his complete interview with the media.

Q. You’re awake. You must be really tired with all that’s been going on.

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Yes, well, it’s been exhausting couple of days, you know, from Indian Wells, traveling to Colombia, playing an exhibition match ‑‑ which, by the way, was amazing and great atmosphere and great reception we got there ‑‑ and then came back and we had, of course, the charity event, football match, and then the dinner that was going on. So it was a lot of obligations, but still, it was enjoyable, because it was all for the good cause; we had a lot of fun yesterday.

Q. How are you taking your first loss of the season against the Strikers?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Yes, not great. (Laughter. We scored two goals. I mean, it’s good enough for the first time, you know. We were just discussing right now in the locker room how we need to work on our game. We are planning actually to play couple of more similar charity football games throughout, you know, the next six, seven, eight months. You know, I’m not gonna say still where and when, but we have something in our minds. Hopefully we can make that happen, because most of the players really, we love playing football, and you could see that. You know, you could see that they are enjoying playing that sport and of course being very competitive, even though it was first time that we managed to become a team. But we wanted to win badly. Yeah, but it was fun.

Q. Who’s the best player?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Ah, the best player? Baghdatis. Second best, Murray. They scored both one goal and they were good.

Q. Do you worry about injuries? I mean, soccer, even if you’re playing a charity event, you could still twist your ankle or something.

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, you know, we didn’t think about that too much, to be honest, you know. (Smiling.) It was more of adrenaline rush that we had of just being there. To be honest, in the first place, everybody didn’t expect that event to be that successful. And it was incredible, you know. Big thanks to everybody who came there, and of course media and all the players, the Strikers and everybody. You know, it was a great cause obviously, and obviously and everybody felt the need to show their support. But on the other hand, it was ‑‑ you know, it was sport that we love to play, but we don’t have an opportunity to be able to play an official match with the referees. But it was great. You know, I don’t think they thought about injuries that much, but we had to sign the paper that they are not responsible for our injuries, like in States. It always works like that. (Laughter.)

Q. With everything that’s been going on, have you had a chance to reflect on what has just been an amazing start to the season?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Um, the best couple of months of my career, definitely. Um, playing really, really well on the court, feeling emotionally very stable, and I just have more self‑belief that I can play good tennis, you know, and that I can win against any player on the tour. It’s really important, you know. I always had, I think, that quality, but mentally I was having a lot of ups and downs, and I didn’t have enough confidence on the court when I played the big players in the big events. But now it’s different, you know. It took time. It took definitely time for me to come to this point where, you know, where I play, I think, the best tennis of my life. It took a lot of patience, a lot of hard work, but it all comes from that. It all comes from dedication.

Q. How did you address those mental up and downs? Was there one thing that made a difference?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: It’s very hard to make a difference between a private life and your professional life. There were some things that affected my game, you know, from private life. It was hard, for me, to kind of, you know, show my best on the court. You know, bottom line is this is mental game. Everybody’s physically fit, and, you know, everybody’s working really hard each day. But if you’re not stable emotionally, then you’re not able to perform your best on the court. Now things are coming together, so just happy for that.

Q. Can you tell me about all your experiences in Bogota?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I cannot tell you about all the experience, but I can tell you the experience that we had on the court. (Laughing.) It has been a fantastic trip for us. Even though it was very short, it was maybe one day, but we didn’t have much sleep, that’s for sure. You know, from Indian Wells we had a long travels, and we slept for a couple of hours only that day before the exhibition event. We had a lot of activities. We had a tennis clinic with sponsors, with kids, and we had a lot of media activities, as well. And then, you know, we went back to the stadium where we played the match. It was packed. I think it was 14,000 people. It was, for me, the best atmosphere in the exhibition match that I have experienced ever. I was not aware of the popularity of tennis in Colombia, to be honest. It was amazing. The president of the country came, and we really felt ‑‑ we really felt great.

Q. With all the matches you won now, is there a danger of becoming too confident?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I guess it’s never enough to have, you know ‑‑ more confidence you have, I guess, there is no limits in confidence, you know. It’s really important to be able to have a feeling that you can win against anybody in the court. I think the bottom line is that it’s all about confidence, and only couple of points basically decide the winner when you are playing against the top players, against Roger, Rafa, you know, Murray, all these guys. It’s very high level of tennis, and, you know, if you’re able to be calm in the certain moments, to be confident, to go for the shots, you know, then you will have a success. I guess in last two, three months, that’s the state of, you know ‑‑ that’s the feeling that I have right now, and it keeps on going well for me. But it’s only a start of the year. I want to move on. I’m using the experience that I had two years ago, three years ago when I won a Grand Slam, when I won Indian Wells, and then I lost here first round. I had a lot of opening‑round losses throughout the year, and I wasn’t managing to be consistent with the success. This time I will do differently.
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Argentine Juan Martin Del Potro’s impressive return to the ATP tour continued today at the Sony Ericsson Open. In first round action, Del Potro defeated Ricardo Mello of Brazil in straight sets 6-4, 6-4.

In his post match interview Del Potro was asked if he thought his comeback was on track and if he was back to where [he] needed to be. Del Potro responded that he “didn’t think so” however he added that “I’m improving faster than what I expected.” Del Potro acknowledged that there is a difference in the level of his game versus Nadal and other top 10 players, but he stated that he “is getting closer”.

Del Potro is now on a collision course with Robin Soderling in the third round. Del Potro faces Philipp Kohlschreiber in the second round, while Soderling begins his Miami campaign against Ivan Dodig.

In other first round action 2008 Sony Ericsson Open Champion Nikolay Davydenko was upset by Kevin Anderson. This is the second time that Anderson has eliminated a past champion in the opening rounds in Miami. In 2008, Anderson bounced defending champion Novak Djokovic in the second round.

James Blake also advanced in Miami after staging a come from behind win over fellow American Michael Russell. Blake closed out Russell in a third set tie break and will face Thomaz Bellucci in the next round.

Two-time Sony Ericsson Open champion Roger Federer held his first press conference today at the 2011 Sony Ericsson Open. Here is what he had to say to the media.
 
​Q.  What is it that you love about playing tennis?  Simple question.

​ROGER FEDERER:  I guess, you know, it’s myself to blame if I win or lose, which I kind of like, and that it’s one on one, or if you like, in doubles two or two. ​But there’s a distance, so there is always a lot of fair play.  There’s no ugly plays in that way.  Good sport to watch on TV; good sport to watch live.  It’s atheltical and has a bit of everything.  I think it’s really nice.
 
​Q.  How are you finding the transition from one court to the next?

​ROGER FEDERER:  Well, it’s still hard court, so should be all right.  It’s a bit more humid here.  It hasn’t been brutal, so it’s been all right.  It was nice and warm as well in Indian Wells, so it’s been okay. Obviously I’ve played a lot of tennis, so maybe just I’m a touch tired, but I’m happy I still have a few more days.  So there’s no issue there. ​I practiced yesterday and today here and I feel fine, you know.  There’s not much to say really yet.  Conditions are obviously slightly different, adjusting, you know, string tensions, just understanding how far the ball flies, how it bounces, and all those things. ​That’s why I just need a couple more practice sessions and I’ll be okay.
 
​Q.  A few weeks ago Andre Agassi said of Andy Roddick, if it weren’t for you, that he would have had a tremendous career.  Do you take a little bit of joy in knowing you’ve knocked Andy out of sort of that major block?  What do you see in him down the road?

​ROGER FEDERER:  No, I’m not happy at all.  I think he’s done actually really well.  I mean, he achieved all his dreams basically  you know, except maybe winning Wimbledon  but he was in many great matches in finals there, which he can always look back on. ​I think that was very nice, as well.  Clearly he’d like to win those, but not everybody can say they’ve been in multiple Wimbledon finals, you know.  He’s won the US Open, was world No. 1, won Davis Cup. ​How much more do you really need to be happy as a tennis player?  So I think he’s actually  considering that everybody always is so negative around him, you know, especially in terms of the press, I think he knows what he achieved.  The players know it, too, and that’s why he’s so respected. ​His career is not over yet.  There are still things to achieve out there.  I’ve always enjoyed my matches with him. And, no, I don’t feel happy that I did any  I had a part in maybe making his career worse or better or whatever, you know.  Who knows, if I wasn’t around maybe somebody else would have been around, you know.  So you never know.
 
​Q.  As you know, there was earthquake disaster in Japan.  If you don’t mind, could you leave a message for the Japanese people.

​ROGER FEDERER:  Yeah, it’s been very sad news, of course.  I’ve followed, you know, what happened in Japan, and it was devastating, you know, to say the least. ​It’s always one of those natural disasters, that really, you know, touch everybody, to see those terrible pictures.  And then obviously thinking of my good times in Tokyo when I was there and good times I had, which I really enjoyed, you know, obviously the fans I have in that part of the world  or in Japan in particular, you know. ​I can only tell them that I’m thinking of them as well and that I wish them only the best and that they can rebuild and get stronger out of how it was before, because it’s not an easy situation right now.
 
​Q.  Kim Clijsters said yesterday that she wouldn’t go to Asia because of the radiation; she wouldn’t take her kids, et cetera.  Does that sound like anything that you would consider?

​ROGER FEDERER:  Um, I haven’t even thought about it yet because I’m not going to Asia, you know, in the next couple weeks.
 
​Q.  She said Shanghai.  She said no China.  No Japan.

​ROGER FEDERER:  Really?  No, it hasn’t even crossed my mind yet.  I will only think about that when the situation is right in front of me.  But we’ll get the green light or not from someone else, you know. ​At the end of the day you always have to take your own decision, but I don’t think it’s gonna be a problem by then, to be honest.
 
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Citing an abdominal injury, Venus Williams has withdrawn from the 2011 Sony Ericsson Open.

Here is the official press release from the Sony Ericsson Open tournament :

VENUS WILLIAMS WITHDRAWS FROM SONY ERICSSON OPEN

MIAMI, Fla. (www.sonyericssonopen.com) – Three-time Sony Ericsson Open champion and
7-time Grand Slam winner, Venus Williams, has withdrawn from the 2011 Sony Ericsson Open.

Williams is forced to withdraw from this year’s tournament due to an abdominal injury she incurred earlier this year at the Australian Open. The tennis star is currently receiving ongoing rehabilitation at home and released the following statement.

“I am very sorry to not be playing in the Sony Ericsson Open this year. It is one of my favorite tournaments on the circuit, especially because it is so close to my home in South FL. I look forward to returning to the tour soon.”

“It is unfortunate that Venus Williams will be unable to play at this year’s Sony Ericsson Open. She will be missed and we wish her a speedy recovery,” said Adam Barrett, Sony Ericsson Open Tournament Director. “We hope to see her back on the courts soon.”

Despite Williams’ withdrawal fans will still be able to see exhilarating matches as the women’s field features power players including defending Sony Ericsson Open champion Kim Clijsters; current World No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki; and three-time Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova.

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The Sony Ericsson Open has announced the wildcard entrants for this year’s tournament. American James Blake and Russian Dinara Safina highlight the list of wildcard players that will be playing at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park in Miami. On the men’s side of the draw the other wildcards include Americans Jack Sock and Ryan Harrison, Canadian Milos Raonic, and Bernard Tomic from Australia. Joining Safina on the women’s side of the draw are Heather Watson, Sorana Cirstea, Sabine Lisicki, Madison Keys, and Coco Vandeweghe. Here is the official press release from the Sony Ericsson Open tournament : BLAKE AND SAFINA HIGHLIGHT SONY ERICSSON OPEN WILDCARDS Current and rising stars are granted this year’s wildcards MIAMI, Fla. (www.sonyericssonopen.com) – The 2011 Sony Ericsson Open announced its wildcard entries and this year it features former World No. 4 James Blake and former World No. 1 Dinara Safina. A total of five wildcard slots were granted to the men’s draw and also include Jack Sock, Ryan Harrison, Milos Raonic, and Bernard Tomic. While six were given on the women’s side which feature Heather Watson, Sorana Cirstea, Sabine Lisicki, Madison Keys, and Coco Vandeweghe. Women’s main draw begins on Tuesday, March 22, while the men’s main draw kicks off the following day on Wednesday, March 23. The qualifying rounds will be held Monday and Tuesday, March 21 and 22. Tickets to the 2011 Sony Ericsson Open are on sale now and can be purchased by phone (305-442-3367) or via internet at www.sonyericssonopen.com. An electrifying two weeks of tennis conclude with the women’s final on Saturday, April 2 and the men’s final on Sunday, April 3.
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Juan Martin Del Potro advanced to the quarterfinals of the Delray Beach Tennis International Championships Thursday night with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Teymuraz Gabashvili.

After the match Del Potro commented that he “had a good night” adding that he is “getting better match by match” and that he “played better than [his opening match on] Tuesday”.

Looking ahead to BNP Paribas and Sony Ericsson Open, MiamiTennisNews asked Del Potro the following :

Q : Do the matches that you have won last week in Memphis and here in Delray give you confidence heading into Indian Wells and Miami?

Del Potro : Yes, I need to get more confidence and rhythm in matches. [I need] to get on the courts and feel the sensations of playing a match – nerves, being in a stadium with crowds – it is something that I lost while being out for a year. I need to recover [these experiences] as they are what lets one win matches.

Del Potro will face fifth-seeded Kevin Anderson in the quarterfinals on Friday. Anderson advanced in straight sets by defeating Florent Serra 6-1, 6-4 in the final match of the night session.

In the afternoon session second-seeded Mardy Fish advanced in straight sets over Ricardo Mello 6-2, 6-1. Fish is attempting to return to the Delray final after winning the title in 2009.

In another second round match, qualifier Alejandro Falla advanced in straight sets over Adrian Mannarino 6-3, 6-2. Falla faces Fish in the first match of Friday’s night session.

The first quarterfinal match of Friday features qualifier Ryan Sweeting taking on 2008 Delray champion Kei Nishikori. Ivan Dodig faces sixth-seeded Janko Tipsarevic in the second quarterfinal match.

Here is the order of play for Friday, February 25 :

STADIUM start 11:00 am
[1] E Butorac (USA) / J Rojer (AHO) vs A Fisher (AUS) / S Huss (AUS)

Not Before 12:30 PM
[Q] R Sweeting (USA) vs K Nishikori (JPN)

Not Before 2:30 PM
I Dodig (CRO) vs [6] J Tipsarevic (SRB)

5:30 PM
F Ferreiro (BRA) / A Sa (BRA) vs M Ebden (AUS) / S Groth (AUS)

Not Before 7:15 PM
[Q] A Falla (COL) vs [2] M Fish (USA)
[5] K Anderson (RSA) vs J Del Potro (ARG) 

Six-seeded Janko Tipsarevic advanced to the third round of the Delray Beach Tennis International Championships Wednesday night with a 6-2, 6-7, 6-3 win over Blaz Kavcic.

In the first night session match, Kei Nishikori eliminated wild card James Blake 6-3, 6-4. The second round encounter was a rematch of the 2008 final whereby Nishikori was also victorious.

In the afternoon session third-seeded Sam Querrey went down in straight sets to qualifier Ryan Sweeting, while Ivan Dodig advanced over Dudi Sela 2-6, 6-3, 6-2.

In another second round match Adrian Mannarino rallied from a set down to advance over Leonardo Mayer 1-6, 7-6, 6-4.

Thursday afternoon, 2009 ITC champion Mardy Fish will take on the 2004 ITC champion Ricardo Mello. The night session is highlighted by 2009 US Open champion Juan Martin Del Potro who takes on Teymuraz Gabashvili. Gabashvili eliminated John Isner in the first round.

Here is the order of play for Thursday, February 24 :

STADIUM start 11:00 am
B Becker (GER) / M Kohlmann (GER) vs C Kas (GER) / A Peya (AUT)

Not Before 12:30 PM
R Mello (BRA) vs [2] M Fish (USA)

Not Before 2:30 PM
[8] A Mannarino (FRA) vs [Q] A Falla (COL)

5:30 PM
S Lipsky (USA) / R Ram (USA) vs J Murray (GBR) / K Skupski (GBR)

Not Before 7:15 PM
J Del Potro (ARG) vs T Gabashvili (RUS)
[5] K Anderson (RSA) vs F Serra (FRA)