NaD Meckerecke » t it is definitely a good car

MONACO -- Canadian Milos Raonic defeated Spains Tommy Robredo 6-4, 6-3 on Thursday to reach the quarter-finals at the Monte Carlo Masters. The 23-year-old from Thornhill, Ont., will next take on Australian Open champion Stanislas Wawrinka, who advanced on a walkover when Spanish opponent Nicolas Almagro retired before their match with a foot injury. Wawrinka, the third seed, has beaten the eighth-seeded Raonic in both of their previous meetings. "Ive struggled in the past against Stan but it will be quite different this time around," said Raonic. "Im doing a lot of things well and Im looking forward to that challenge." Raonic had seven aces in his third-round match and broke Robredos serve once per set while never facing a challenge on his own serve. The Canadian also beat Robredo in their previous meeting last spring in Barcelona. His next match marks a breakthrough as it will be Raonics first quarter-final appearance at a clay-court 1000 Series event. "This is a first, thats for sure," he said. "Its a result of a lot of the good things Im doing. But I can do better and Im looking forward to bringing that out in myself. "This is the closest Ive gotten to a big clay opportunity, so its definitely a positive." In second-round mens doubles play, Torontos Daniel Nestor and Serbian partner Nenad Zimonjic defeated the Polish duo of Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matowski 6-7(6), 7-6 (3), 10-7. Raonic claimed the opening set against Robredo with a break in the final game, smashing down an overhead winner on his second set-point opportunity. The Canadian jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second set when a Robredo return wide down the line. Raonic then stayed the course to serve out the victory, finishing in just over an hour. "Im very pleased with myself, I showed a lot of discipline," Raonic said. "I struggled in the beginning but was able to figure it all out towards the end of the set. I gave myself a lot of opportunities afterwards." Raonic credited his world-class serve with keeping him out of trouble. "Serving well was a big thing today," he said. "I was also moving well and able to dictate with my forehand." The victory boosted Raonics record to 10-3 on the season and has given him a boost of confidence on the slower surface. "Ive played a lot of the Spanish guys in practice matches," said Raonic, the former pupil of Spaniard Galo Blanco. "I definitely have more of an understanding of what I need to do and what I can expect from them as well." Also Thursday, defending champion Novak Djokovic raced into the quarter-finals by dispatching Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain 6-0, 6-1 in 47 minutes. Eight-time champion Rafael Nadal also had little trouble, beating Italian Andreas Seppi 6-1, 6-3, while fourth-seeded Roger Federer shook off a slow start in a 6-4, 6-1 win against Czech player Lukas Rosol. The second-seeded Djokovic won his second-round opener in 45 minutes and has yet to be tested this week. He next faces Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez. The top-seeded Nadal has looked sloppy at times. "Lost only two games in the first two matches (here). Cant be better than this, for sure," Djokovic said. "I am confident on the court. Im coming off a great American hard-court season." Djokovic sealed the 22-minute first set with a crisp forehand. Carreno Busta received loud cheers, clenched his fists and grinned broadly when he won his only game for 3-1 in the second. Djokovic served out, tormenting him one last time with an exquisite drop shot. He is aiming for his fifth straight Masters win. He won at Indian Wells and Key Biscayne, dominating Nadal in the latter final to record his third straight win against him in straight sets. "Ive had more time comparing to last year to practice on the clay courts and to get my game to the level where I want it to be," Djokovic said. Nadal achieved his 300th win on clay in beating Seppi. He won this title for eight straight years until last year when he lost the final to Djokovic. "Today I played a little bit better than yesterday," Nadal said. "I was playing at a good level." He next faces sixth-seeded David Ferrer, who easily beat Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria 6-4, 6-2, while Federer will face ninth-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Nadal has a 21-5 career record against countryman Ferrer, winning 10 of the past 11 meetings. "David is a tough, tough player on any surface," Nadal said. "But here on clay, always a big challenge." Rosol, meanwhile, broke Federer in the third game and held for 3-1. "It was a bit rocky in the beginning," Federer said. He broke back with a stinging cross-court forehand at Rosols feet, and then broke him to love. He clinched the set when Rosols forehand sailed long. Federer has a 10-4 record against Tsonga, who beat him in the French Open quarter-finals last year and in the Wimbledon quarters in 2011. "Ive seen Jo play different kind of quality matches lately, so not quite sure hes going to play, how aggressive, how passive," Federer said. Tsonga won 5-7, 6-3, 6-0 against Fabio Fognini of Italy, who did his best to spoil the Frenchmans 29th birthday with his wild antics, including smashing rackets and shouting loudly. In the days only upset, Garcia-Lopez beat fifth-seeded Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic 4-6, 6-3, 6-1. The only other time Garcia-Lopez reached a Masters last eight was in Shanghai four years ago, when he lost to Djokovic, who leads 5-0 in their head-to-heads. Tomas Hyka Jersey . Torres tells Spanish daily AS "in football you never know where you will be inside one month. Im going to work hard, thats all you can do with this last part of the season so important. Marc-Andre Fleury Jersey .J. -- Patrick Sharp is on one of those streaks. http://www.goldenknightssale.com/. A spokeswoman for the NLRB says its "a very incremental move" and does not necessarily indicate the board is close to a finding in the case. NFL owners filed an unfair labour charge against the players union in February, arguing that the union was not negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement in good faith. Malcolm Subban Jersey . On Sunday, hell attempt to become the youngest driver to win a NASCAR Nationwide race on Iowas short track. The 20-year-old Blaney wont be the only kid pushing a podium finish. Curtis McKenzie Jersey . The unrestricted free agent agreed to terms with the club on Thursday on a one-year, two-way deal worth $700,000.Kimi Raikkonen says Ferrari should take heart from the fact their speed is there, despite reliability problems meaning they are already playing catch-up to Mercedes in the World Championship. Ferrari have finished on the podium at each of the opening two races but power unit-related failures mean they are yet to get two cars to the chequered flag.Mercedes, meanwhile, won both races and already hold a 50-point lead over their Italian rivals in the Constructors Championship. But despite Ferraris early-season concerns, Raikkonen, who finished second in Bahrain, is pleased with the SF16-Hs competitiveness - although acknowledges the cars reliability must improve.We are still positive with what the team has built over the winter, it hasnt changed, said Raikkonen in the Drivers Press Conference ahead of the Chinese GP. Natalie Pinkham is joined by former McLaren driver John Watson and F1 historian and author Roger Smith to preview the Chinese Grand Prix It hasnt been an ideal first two races as a team - weve had two podiums but two non-finishes, and thats not what we want.Obviously there is quite a bit of worrk to be done on that side, but the speed is there.dddddddddddd. Its not in qualifying exactly if you take the last race, but until then it was pretty okay. We just have to improve it and make it even better. When is the Chinese GP on Sky? All the broadcast times you need for this weekends exclusively live race. Having seemingly cut Mercedes pace advantage, Raikkonen says the car has improved in all areas and they now have to push the development even further.The engine has improved, the car itself, and its still not as good as we want it to be, but it is definitely a good car and we go from there, the Finn added.Ferraris chances of challenging Mercedes in Bahrain have been boosted by the news Lewis Hamilton - the pole-setter in Australia and Bahrain and winner of the last two Chinese GPs - will start no higher than sixth in Shanghai this weekend after a gearbox change penalty. The potential for a more unpredictable weekend has also been heightened by the fact rain is forecast for Saturdays qualifying day. However, the famously phlegmatic Raikkonen said: We have had quite often here some rain, so its nothing new. We had it in Australia.Get Sky F1: Every race liveIf it rains in qualifying and practice it changes the game a little bit, but I dont think it will affect the final result an awful lot. It will be more exciting, more difficult, but we will see how it pans out.Watch the Chinese GP weekend - LIVE ONLY on Sky Sports F1. The race starts at 7am on Sunday, with build-up underway from 5.30am. Or watch without a contract for £6.99 on NOW TV. Also See: Merc: More to come from Ferrari Chinese GP talking points ' ' '