Top seed Novak Djokovic surged into the quarter-finals of the ATP Montreal Masters on Thursday and was the last of the top players remaining after Roger Federer fell to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Djokovic, the newly crowned world number one, claimed his 50th win of the season, beating Croatian Marin Cilic 7-5, 6-2, as he closed in on his ninth title for 2011.
Federer lost to Tsonga for the second time this summer, going down 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 6-1. "I really played good tonight," Tsonga said. "I was opportunistic. I didn't miss any opportunities I had. I was able to break before he did and I'm very happy the way I won this match.
"I'm happy now to be in the quarterfinals. It was a tough draw to have Federer in the round of 16." The contest came just weeks after the burly Frenchman beat the Swiss master in the Wimbledon quarter-finals, when he staged an incredible comeback from two sets down. Federer remained positive despite the loss.
"I played two matches, I feel good physically," he said. "New York is in one month - it's far away. For the time being, the focus is here, not elsewhere. But if you want to talk about the US Open, I can tell you I feel good mentally and I'm playing well."
Federer now travels to the Cincinnati Masters, his last event before the US Open, which begins on August 29. The 30-year-old's only title this season came in Doha in early January.
"He's playing well. I thought if he was going to play well again, and me not at my best, he could do it again," Federer said of Tsonga. The win gives Tsonga a 3-4 head-to-head record against the 16-time grand slam champion. Compatriot Gael Monfils, seeded fifth, joined him in the last eight, saving three match points in a 3-6, 7-6 (7/0), 7-6 (7/5) win over Serb Viktor Troicki.
But Spain's Nicolas Almagro prevented a Gallic hat-trick as he recovered from 2-5 down in the opening set to overhaul tenth seed Richard Gasquet 7-6 (7/5), 6-3. Djokovic's only loss in 2011 came at the hands of Federer in the Roland Garros semi-finals. The Serb advanced comfortably on Thursday despite challenging conditions. "It was quite a bit different than yesterday, there was a lot of wind involved," Djokovic said. "It wasn't really a beautiful match to play and to watch.
Djokovic admitted he was surprised by the second-round exits of both second seed Rafael Nadal and two-time winner Andy Murray. Czech seventh seed Tomas Berdych defeated huge Croatian server Ivo Karlovic 6-3, 7-6 (7/2) and next faces Serb Janko Tipsarevic. Tipsarevic knocked out Croatian Ivan Dodig, a surprise winner in three sets over Nadal on Wednesday, 6-1, 6-4. Stanislas Wawrinka nullified the huge serve of Kevin Anderson, limiting the South African to six aces in a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 win.
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