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. Nike Air Max 90 From China . For the Wild it was their first win of the season and they now have a record of 1-1-2 while the Jets fall to 2-2. 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A person familiar with the hearing, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press on Saturday that Manfred testified the sport wasnt concerned whether Bosch distributed performance-enhancing drugs to minors because MLBs interest was his relationship with players under investigation. LOS ANGELES -- Southern California didnt have to go far to find a scouting report on Arizona quarterback Khalil Tate, the freshman who could make his first career start Saturday.Freshman defensive end Oluwole Betiku played with Tate in high school. As one of nine current Trojans who attended Serra in Gardena, the prep powerhouse that produced cornerback Adoree Jackson and other recent USC stars, Betiku wanted to prepare the defense for the mix of size and speed Tate had as a runner.Safety Chris Hawkins said Betiku relayed Tates weight as 250 pounds, versus the 212 listed on the Wildcats roster. Betiku admitted to the embellishment, but had a good reason for it.I dont want to say 220 and they feel like hes a really small dude. Tate is a really strong dude, Betiku said.Defensive lineman Rasheem Green, another former Serra player and teammate of Tates, agreed with the assessment.He is not a scared runner, Green said. He will try to run people over. Thats something I do respect about him, he plays with no fear.Betiku could be among the USC defenders tasked with containing Tate on third down. Betiku made his collegiate debut against Colorado, a significant accomplishment for someone in only his third year of football. Betiku moved to the United States from Lagos, Nigeria before his sophomore year in high school, and his rare athleticism quickly made him a highly sought-after recruit.The 6-foot-3, 260-pound Betiku has impressed coaches with his recent work on the scout team, resulting in some snaps rushing the passer against the Buffaloes. Betiku treated every Tuesday when he would work against senior left tackle Chad Wheeler as a game day, and coach Clay Helton likes the progress, thhough cautioning he is not ready to play on every down.ddddddddddddven though he looks like a 30-year old man, he is a true freshman and he is learning a pro-style system, Helton said. We havent given him the entire package.But if Betiku can help keep Tate from moving the chains, it would make him a valuable addition against someone well-suited to play in Arizona coach Rich Rodriguezs spread-option offense. In Tates first action against UCLA, he threw for 72 yards and two touchdowns, rushed for 79 yards and directed scoring drives on three of four second-half possessions. Alternating with and ultimately replacing an injured Brandon Dawkins against Utah, Tate was tackled for a safety and threw an interception, though he also threw a 63-yard touchdown pass to Samajie Grant.In spite of those struggles, USC is aware of the threat Tate represents. Jackson even went as far as saying Tate is pretty much the same as me in terms of game-breaking ability.Once he gets the ball in his hand its hard to get him down, Jackson said. Its one of those things where he is electrifying with the ball. He can beat you with his arm, beat you with his feet. Just a special kid.Confusing and pressuring Tate will be key.We got to show him something, Hawkins said. We got to try and get as many hits on him as we can. Once you start hitting the QB they are not going to run anymore, so we are going to dial some stuff up to where we can get him rattled.As for the rest of Betikus scouting report on Tate, he would not share.Thats exclusive information for just the defense, Betiku said. 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