Fernando Gonzalez

Novak Djokovic advanced to the third round of the Madrid Masters on Wednesday after Victor Hanescu retired due to an apparent groin injury while trailing 6-7 (8), 7-6 (8), 3-1.

Hanescu won the first-set tiebreaker on his third set point when Djokovic hit a forehand long.

Hanescu saved a set point in the second set by hitting a powerful forehand to catch the third-ranked Djokovic going the wrong way in the 12th game.

Eighth seed Gael Monfils upset number two Fernando Gonzalez of Chile 6-3 7-6 on Friday to advance to the semi-finals of the Vienna Open.

The 22-year-old Frenchman put in a gutsy performance, saving seven out of eight break points before dominating the tiebreak 7-2.

Monfils, a former junior world number one, is through to his fourth semi-final of the year but is yet to reach a final in 2008.

Standing in his way on Saturday will be German world number 32 Philipp Kohlschreiber who cruised past fifth seed Fernando Verdasco of Spain 6-2 6-3.

Chilean Fernando Gonzalez  took time out from the Bank Austria-Tennis Trophy in Vienna on Thursday to visit the Spanish Riding School, which is home to 73 Lipizzan stallions.

The 28-year-old visited the stables to meet a 15-year-old Lipizzan stallion called Conversano Tiberia. Afterwards he watched the morning practice show at Vienna's Imperial Hofburg Palace.

Gonzalez said: “It was very nice. The horses are really taken care of perfectly. I’ve never seen this many white horses at once!”

Fernando Gonzalez saved five match points before defeating Ernests Gulbis 4-6, 7-6 (11), 6-1 Wednesday to reach the quarterfinals of the BA Tennis Trophy.

The second-seeded Chilean lost the opening set when he dropped serve while trailing 5-4.

“It was difficult to get into the match because he was hitting the balls so hard,” Gonzalez said.

Top-seeded Stanislas Wawrinka was upset 6-7 (5), 6-2, 7-6 (5) Tuesday by German qualifier Philipp Petzschner in the first round of the BA Tennis Trophy.

Second-seeded Fernando Gonzalez rallied from a set down to beat Simone Bolelli 4-6, 7-6 (2), 6-2, while Juergen Melzer fought off two set points before defeating two-time champion Ivan Ljubicic 7-6 (3), 6-3.

Petzschner had two early breaks but lost the opening set after double-faulting in the tiebreaker.

Fresh off his first title in six months, Andy Roddick hopes to continue his recent stellar play this week at the $869,000 AIG Japan Open, which kicked off Monday.

Roddick bounced back from a disappointing performance at the Davis Cup by winning last week’s $524,000 China Open in Beijing. The American posted a 6-4, 6-7, (6-8), 6-3 victory over Dudi Sela in Sunday’s final to claim his first title since winning in Dubai this past March.

The 26-year-old Spaniard has won two titles this season at Valencia and s-Hertogenbosch but was bundled out of the US Open this month by unseeded Japanese teenager Kei Nishikori, who also plays here.

Ferrer's main rivals include Roddick, last year's runner-up Gasquet, Fernando Gonzalez of Chile, Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina and Australian Open finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France.

American favourite and former champion Andy Roddick marched into the quarter-finals of the U.S. Open with an easy 6-2 6-4 6-1 victory over Chilean 11th seed Fernando Gonzalez on Tuesday.

Roddick's victory in under 90 minutes should leave him relatively fresh for a last-eight showdown with Novak Djokovic, who endured a gruelling five-setter against Tommy Robredo, overcoming hip, stomach, ankle and breathing problems in the three hour 45 minute match.

After receiving a scare early in the tournament, Andy Roddick appears to have returned to his old form.

The eighth-seeded American attempts to move another step closer to his second U.S. Open title when he faces 11th seed Fernando Gonzalez of Chile at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Tuesday in the fourth round of the year’s final Grand Slam.

For the hottest properties on the tennis scene, the road to the U.S. Open this year did not wind through the United States as usual. Instead, the journey was highlighted by the sights and sounds of China, as in the Beijing 2008 Olympics. As has been the case since tennis returned to the Olympics at the Seoul 1988 Games, the results did not always run true to form, but that is what the Olympics are all about -- surprising outcomes, nationalistic pride and the world attempting to come together for one common cause of sporting greatness.