Rafael Nadal advanced to the fourth round at the Sony Ericsson Open by rallying past wild card David Nalbandian 6-7 (8), 6-2, 6-2 Sunday. Nadal, seeded fourth, remained on course for a showdown in the final against No. 1 Roger Federer. The rivals have met only once in the past year, but their paths became easier when No. 2 Novak Djokovic and No. 3 Andy Murray lost their opening matches. In women's play, Grand Slam champions Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters advanced. The unseeded Henin, mounting a comeback after a 20-month retirement, beat No. 26 Dominika Cibulkova 6-4, 6-4. Clijsters, seeded 14th, swept the first nine games and needed only 51 minutes to beat No. 17 Shahar Peer 6-0, 6-1. Fellow Spaniard Nicolas Almagro beat Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 6-2, 6-7 (9/11), 6-3 to set up a match with Brazil's Tomaz Bellicci, who ended the run of Djokivic's conqueror Olivier Rochus of Belgium 6-3, 6-4. French Open semifinalist Samantha Stosur of Australia produced a second consecutive comeback from a set down as she defeated Virginie Razzano of France 4-6, 7-5, 6-1. Russian 11th seed Vera Zvonareva eliminated Sara Errani 6-2, 6-3 and another Russian, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, beat Errani's Italian compatriot Francesca Schiavone 7-5, 6-3. Federer preserved dignity among the elite Saturday, earning a comfortable opening victory after world No. 3 Andy Murray crashed out to unheralded Mardy Fish. Top seed Federer quietly dominated Nicolas Lapentti, vanquishing the Ecuadoran 6-3, 6-3 in 66 minutes. Federer lined up a third-round clash with Frenchman Florent Serra, a 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 winner over Spain's Albert Montanes. Swedish fifth seed Robin Soderling, the French Open runner-up, progressed to the third round with a 7-6 (7/5), 6-0 win over Australian Peter Luczak. Croatian number seven Marin Cilic accounted for Stephane Robert of France 6-3, 6-1. In the women's WTA event, top seed and 2006 winner Svetlana Kuznetsova beat Agnes Szavay of Hungary 6-2, 6-3 to reach the fourth round.
