Novak Djokovic of Serbia clasps his hands and looks skywards after defeating Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine in Monaco Thursday. — Reuters MONACO — Novak Djokovic played just hours after learning about the death of his grandfather and coped with his grief to beat Alexandr Dolgopolov 2-6, 6-1, 6-4 and reach the Monte Carlo Masters quarterfinals Thursday. Seven-time defending champion Rafael Nadal followed Djokovic on court to thrash Mikhail Kukushkin 6-1, 6-1, conceding only six points on his serve and breaking the Kazakh qualifier five times. After clinching victory on his first match point, the top-ranked Djokovic crouched over with his hands on his knees as Dolgopolov applauded him at the net. Djokovic then appeared to wipe away tears with his forearm before pointing with both hands to the sky as he stood on center court for a few moments. “I think he made a fantastic effort today,” Nadal said. “It means that he is very strong mentally.” Djokovic did not attend the usual post-match news conference, with the ATP saying he was too distressed. Djokovic seemed preoccupied as he walked onto center court with his head down, and his mind was clearly elsewhere in a brief first set where he missed easy volleys, sent drop shots wide, and twice lost his serve to Dolgopolov. Djokovic stared at the ground as he sat waiting for the start of the second set. But he broke the Ukrainian early in the second and Dolgopolov's wayward shot-making gave the Serb time to get his rhythm back. The players went off early into the third set as the rain came down again, one of several downpours during the day. After they returned, Djokovic broke Dolgopolov in the ninth game and clinched the victory when Dolgopolov sent a return wide. He next plays Dutchman Robin Haase, while six-time French Open champion Nadal takes on Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland, who beat Nicolas Almagro of Spain 6-3, 6-3. “I played much better than yesterday (Wednesday). More aggressive, more solid,” said Nadal, who improved his record here to 41-1, including 39 straight wins. With the exception of 2009, he has achieved the Monte Carlo Masters-French Open double every year since 2005. Earlier, No. 3 Andy Murray advanced to the last eight after Julien Benneteau of France injured his ankle and retired near the end of a hard-fought first set with the score 6-5. Benneteau, a former French Open quarterfinalist, caused Murray problems throughout a set in which both players were aggressive. “He was playing well, he was going for his shots and making it tough,” Murray said. But Benneteau, scampering to retrieve a shot from the baseline, slipped and rolled his right ankle. He also hurt his right wrist as he tried to break his fall. After lengthy treatment, Benneteau briefly continued before retiring. Murray next pays sixth-seeded Tomas Berdych, who recovered from a shaky first set to beat Kei Nishikori of Japan 2-6, 6-2, 6-4. Nishikori lost only two points on his serve in the first set and broke Berdych twice. Berdych has a 3-2 record against Murray, including a straight-sets win in the fourth round of the French Open two years ago. On the same center court days ago, Argentine Juan Monaco also turned his ankle in an almost identical way to Benneteau, and had to pull out during his match against Haase. Fourth-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga advanced by beating Fernando Verdasco of Spain 7-6 (7), 6-2. He next plays ninth-seeded Gilles Simon in an all-French quarterfinal after Simon beat No. 7 Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia 6-0, 4-6, 6-1. Haase beat Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci.
