Djokovic scrapes into last eight

Holder Novak Djokovic staged a 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 comeback over Argentine Juan Monaco to earn a place in the quarterfinals at a windy Rome Masters on Thursday. With gusts of wind making life a challenge on the red clay, top seed Djokovic had to smash a racquet into bits to get himself going after losing the opening set to ‘Pico’, the best friend of Rafael Nadal on the ATP tour. The outburst came after the Argentine had finally converted a fifth set point in the blustery conditions. The Serb went down a break in the second set but got it back and then broke again to level the match at a set apiece. It took a break for 5-3 in the final set to put Djokovic into position to close out victory on his second match point. “It was difficult to play in the wind, but it was the same for both,” said Djokovic. “He was able to deal with the conditions better at the start, but after a set and a half I started to play better and change my strategy. “I never expected an easy match against him on his favorite surface. I felt I started hitting the ball better. I found my rhythm.” Djokovic finished with 16 winners and 40 unforced errors, a symptom of the windy conditions that have bothered players all week. He now leads Monaco 6-0 in head-to-head matches as the pair played for the first time on the South American’s preferred surface. Rome is one of the four Masters 1000 titles that Djokovic has won in multiple editions, along with Indian Wells, Miami and Canada. Spanish sixth seed David Ferrer knocked out French 11th seed Gilles Simon 6-0, 7-6 (7/5), while Madrid finallist Tomas Berdych, seeded seventh, reached the last eight as he overcame Spaniard Nicolas Almagro 7-6 (7/3), 6-3. On the women’s side, top seed Victoria Azarenka faces a French Open fitness battle after a right shoulder injury forced her to withdraw before her third-round match against Slovakia’s Dominika Cibulkova. With just 10 days until the start of the French Open, the Belarusian will hope for a quick recovery ahead of her bid for a second straight Grand Slam title. Wimbledon winner and fourth seed Petra Kvitova battled to overcome Romanian Sorona Cirstea 6-2, 5-7, 6-2, while German 12th seed Angelique Kerber beat German compatriot Julia Goerges 6-4, 6-1. Italy’s Flavia Pennetta continued to thrill home fans, crushing Petra Cetkovska 6-0, 6-1. Meanwhile, the Williams sisters produced near-simultaneous wins, finishing within minutes of each other as ninth seed Serena beat Spain’s Anabel Madinah Garrigues 6-3, 6-1 and unseeded Venus upset Australian fifth seed Samantha Stosur 6-4, 6-3.