Sony Ericsson Open

Third seed Mardy Fish was knocked out of the US Men's Clay Court quarter-finals in straight sets by eighth seed Oscar Hernandez on Friday.

Hernandez capitalised with four out of 10 break points as Fish struggled with his service, making just 42% of his first serves (36 out of 86) and four double faults in the 6-2 7-6 (7/5) loss.

It was more of the same for Fish, who has not won on the ATP Tour since capturing his second career championship at this US dollars 436,000 event in 2006.

 Rafael Nadal shrugged off a bout of jet-lag to beat Nicolas Kiefer 7-6 6-0 6-3 and give Spain a 1-0 lead over Germany in their Davis Cup quarter-final on Friday.

Nadal, who has had trouble sleeping since flying in from Miami at the start of the week, made a sluggish start on the indoor hard court but edged an 88-minute first set 7-5 on the tiebreak, after blowing a chance to serve for it at 5-4.

Marat Safin clawed back from two sets down to beat Czech Tomas Berdych 6-7 4-6 6-3 6-2 6-4 and hand Russia a 1-0 lead in their Davis Cup quarter-final tie on Friday.

Former world number one Safin has struggled all season and is now ranked 87th in the world but he found his rhythm in the nick of time to wear down Berdych in just under four hours to whoops and cheers from the partisan crowd.

Jet leg will be Spain's biggest worry heading into their Davis Cup quarter-final in Germany, after Rafael Nadal was drawn to play Friday's opening singles against Nicolas Kiefer.

World number two Nadal, back in the team after sitting out the tie against Peru, flew straight to Germany from Miami, where he lost the Sony Ericsson Open final to Nikolay Davydenko on Sunday.

"I hope it won't be a problem," Nadal said at a news conference following Thursday's draw. "But if the match doesn't go well and it's a problem I won't tell you."

Andy Roddick's rare victory over world number one Roger Federer last week has boosted his confidence in time for this weekend's Davis Cup quarter-finals where he will pilot holders the United States against France.

Eight of the world's top 10 players will line up for the four ties being played from Friday to Sunday.

The Americans will stick to the familiar line-up of world number six Roddick, world number eight James Blake and the top-ranked doubles partnership of Bob and Mike Bryan for their tie at home in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

The transition of Andre Agassi from a flamboyant rebel to his late-career maturation has been well-chronicled. From a swaggering, sometimes petulant teenager with world in the palm of his hands to one of the most respected, amiable players in the game, he was undeniably one of tennis' most beloved figures during his career.

But here on the grounds of Crandon Park, the site of the just-completed Sony Ericsson Open, the impression Agassi left in his 19 years is far more simplified.

Andy Murray is not concerned about dropping out of the world's top 20 and is confident his ranking will soon be heading in the right direction again.

The British number one fell nine places to 22nd today after his second-round defeat by Mario Ancic in Miami last weekend - his lowest position for nearly two years.

However, Murray is confident the forthcoming clay court stretch of the season will give him the chance to get back closer to the top 10.