Nadal through, Berdych, Wozniacki stumble

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Angelique Kerber hits a return to Dane Caroline Wozniacki during their third-round match at the China Open in Beijing last night. The German won 6-2, 6-3.

Rafael Nadal moved into the quarterfinals of the China Open with a 7-6 (3), 6-4 victory over Canada's Vasek Pospisil yesterday.

The third-seeded Spaniard picked up his game considerably following his first-round match with the 230th-ranked Chinese wildcard Wu Di, during which he was broken four times.

Against Pospisil, Nadal only faced one break point — and he saved it.

Earlier, Tomas Berdych and Caroline Wozniacki both lost their way in Beijing's choking smog as they exited the haze-hit tournament with tough defeats.

As air pollution hovered at "hazardous" levels and fans in face masks became commonplace, Berdych was sent packing just 24 hours after arriving from his victory in the rain-delayed Shenzhen Open final.

The world No. 5 never hit his stride against Uruguay's 37th-ranked Pablo Cuevas as he lost 4-6, 4-6 to become the rollercoaster tournament's latest upset.

"I made one tournament title. The other one didn't go my way," shrugged Czech Berdych, who won his 11th career title in Shenzhen, southern China, on Monday.

"It's always a difficult part of the year," he said. "We have to travel a lot. The conditions are always very different, very difficult, week by week here in China. It's not easy to adjust."

Later, Wozniacki was brutally disposed of by a grimly determined Angelique Kerber 2-6, 3-6 as the Dane's hopes of reaching the year-ending WTA Finals took a hit.

Kerber's German compatriot Andrea Petkovic was also bundled out by Italy's Sara Errani 6-3, 3-6, 2-6, compounding a tough season which has included food poisoning, injury and a first-round defeat last week in Wuhan.

"After Wuhan, I said to my coach, this is the worst season I've ever played. That was my assessment after Wuhan. But I guess I was quite emotional after losing in first round," she said.

It was a different story for Spaniard Garbine Muguruza, who retired from last week's Wuhan final against Venus Williams with an ankle problem but bounced back to beat American Irina Falconi 6-2, 6-1.

Fourth seed Agnieszka Radwanska set up a quarterfinal with Kerber after American Madison Keys retired after their first set, becoming the latest in a long list of casualties.

"Definitely tough," said the Pole, when asked about the air pollution, which soared to a level at which people are advised to avoid outdoor exertion.

In Tokyo, local favorite Kei Nishikori advanced to the quarterfinals of the Japan Open with a 7-6 (3), 6-3 victory over Sam Querrey yesterday.

Second-seeded Nishikori set up match point with a blistering backhand down the line and won with a forehand smash, securing his third straight win in seven matches against the unseeded Querrey.

French Open champion and top seed Stan Wawrinka avenged last year's opening-round defeat to Tatsuma Ito, by beating the 116th-ranked Japanese 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 to book his place in the quarterfinals.

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