Madrid Open quarters Men’s draw: Murray has to overcome tiredness

Roger Federer was shocked in the Madrid Open second round by young Australian Nick Kyrgios, but there is still a strong-looking line-up left as the tournament reaches the quarter-finals.

All eight players in the Men’s draw are in action on Friday, with the likes of British hope Andy Murray and defending champion Rafael Nadal looking to reach the semis.

Here is Coral’s preview of the four fixtures…

Rafael Nadal v Grigor Dimitrov
While rising star Dimitrov may have caused a few shock victories in his short career to date, he has never beaten Nadal, who is the heavy 1/5 odds-on favourite for victory, in five meetings.

However, Dimitrov has taken the star Spaniard to at least three sets on four of those occasions, so back Nadal (6/5 tournament favourite) to edge this match 2-1.

John Isner v Tomas Berdych
In the battle of the giants, Berdych (1/4 odds-on favourite) has come out on top of the head-to-heads with 6ft 10in American Isner (11/4), and has won all three on clay.

In two of those matches on the orange surface, both at the French Open, the Czech current world number seven claimed straight sets victories, so can be backed at a more enticing 8/11 to triumph 2-0.

Milos Raonic v Andy Murray
Murray (1/2 favourite) faces Raonic (6/4), who he has lost to three times in five meetings, at the wrong time, after playing two matches on Thursday.

After beating Marcel Granollers in the third round, the Scot stated he had to “bluff” the Spanish qualifier.

“If they want to see top players playing the best tennis, don’t play at three o’clock in the morning,” Murray said. “I tried to pump myself as much as possible for this match and bluff him to show I was feeling OK.”

Montenegrin-born Canada star Raonic won his only match against Murray on clay in straight sets, which was also in Spain, and is 10/3 to take advantage of his fatigue and win 2-0.

David Ferrer v Kei Nishikori
The winner of the above match will face the victor of top 10 diminutive pair Ferrer (7/4) and Nishikori (2/5 favourite).

The Japanese star has a 7-4 career record over the Spaniard, and beat him in this tournament last year 2-1. He is 11/4 to triumph in three sets once more.