Rafael Nadal had no birthday gift for Andy Murray, beating the Briton in straight sets Thursday to join Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic in the Hamburg Masters quarterfinals. Nadal won 6-3, 6-2 over Murray, who turned 21 on Thursday. Federer breezed past Robin Soderling 6-3, 6-2. The defending champion is seeking his fifth title in Hamburg and next will play Fernando Verdasco, who upset fifth-seeded David Ferrer 7-6 (2), 6-2. Third-seeded Novak Djokovic also advanced, beating Ivo Karlovic 7-6 (3), 6-3 to stay on course for consecutive titles after winning last week's Rome Masters. Djokovic could replace Nadal as No. 2 in the ATP tour rankings next week. But fourth-seeded Nikolay Davydenko was upset 7-5, 6-3 by Nicolas Kiefer, who became the first German to reach the quarterfinals of the home tournament since Tommy Haas in 1999. Nadal was last year's runner-up in Hamburg, one of his two losses on clay in 107 matches since April 2005. The other was last week in Rome, when he lost in his opening match to Juan Carlos Ferrero while suffering from a painful blister on his right foot. Nadal received treatment for blisters on his left hand, but was already 4-1 in the second set against Murray. Nadal did not seem to be in discomfort, unlike Murray who did not have an answer to Nadal's power on clay. Murray ended the match with a meek forehand into the net, one of his 23 unforced errors. Nadal had only 11. Federer lost in Rome quarterfinals to Radek Stepanek but has looked very comfortable in his first two matches in Hamburg, one of his favorite events. The tournament is a major warmup for the French Open later this month, the only Grand Slam title Federer has yet to win. Verdasco, ranked No. 28, reached his second quarterfinal of the year after Valencia, where he lost to Ferrer in three sets. Djokovic leads the tour with three titles this year, including the Australian Open, his first major. Apart from Rome, he also won the Masters Series event in Indian Wells. Djokovic had never played Karlovic before and took some time to adjust to his big serve. The 2.08-meter Karlovic led the tour last year in aces. He had 12 against Djokovic but also had 26 unforced errors. Djokovic will next play Albert Montanes, who rolled past Janko Tipsarevic 6-2, 6-1. Andreas Seppi upset 12th-seeded Juan Monaco 6-0, 6-3 and No. 11 Carlos Moya outlasted Marat Safin, a two-time runner-up in Hamburg, 6-2, 6-7 (3), 6-1. In his first quarterfinal match of the year, Kiefer will play Seppi while Nadal faces his mentor and friend Moya. Sharapova, Jankovic advance In Rome, Maria Sharapova rallied from a four-game deficit in the second set to beat Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark 6-4, 7-6 (3) Thursday and reach the Italian Open quarterfinals. Sharapova improved to 25-2 this year, and on Monday she will regain the No. 1 ranking, courtesy of Justine Henin's retirement. The Russian committed 35 unforced errors to Wozniacki's 22, but led 37-16 in winners. Also advancing at the Foro Italico were defending champion Jelena Jankovic and both Williams sisters. The fourth-seeded Jankovic routed Maria Kirilenko 6-1, 6-1 to set up a meeting with seventh-seeded Venus Williams, who led 3-0 in both sets of a 7-5, 6-2 win over No. 10 Vera Zvonareva. Serena Williams overcame some erratic moments before eliminating Italian wild card Sara Errani 6-4, 6-3 and now will play 34th-ranked Alize Cornet of France, who upset last year's runner-up Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-2, 6-4. The Williams haven't met in a final since Serena beat her older sister for the 2003 Wimbledon title. While they are on opposite sides of the draw, Venus has a tough contest with Jankovic. The pair are tied 3-3 in their career meetings, with Venus winning their last match in a third-set tiebreaker at last year's US Open. On Wednesday, Sharapova struggled with her consistency in a three-set win over Dominika Cibulkova, a match that finished near midnight. She next faces 2005 runner-up Patty Schnyder, who edged last year's Wimbledon finalist Marion Bartoli 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7). Also, Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria reached the last eight when Victoria Azarenka retired while trailing 6-2, 1-0 with a left knee injury. Pironkova's quarterfinal opponent will be No. 6 Anna Chakvetadze, who eliminated No. 12 Agnieszka Radwanska 6-4, 1-6, 6
