Feliciano Lopez of Spain prevented an eagerly anticipated clash between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, for the first time since Australian Open 2014, as he edged out his illustrious countryman 5-7,6-4,7-6(3) in the round of sixteen at the ATP Masters 1000 in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was the second consecutive loss for Nadal against Lopez who also beat him in Beijing in October 2014.

Lopez would now aim to beat Federer for the first time in twelve meetings. The second seeded Swiss (currently ranked third following Murray’s win in Montreal) will need a very strong performance at this event in order to ensure that he is seeded second at the U.S. Open, starting August 31st, 2015, at the Flushing Meadows in New York. Federer who missed Montreal dismissed the South African Kevin Anderson 6-1,6-1.

In the opening match of the day, the top seeded Novak Djokovic of Serbia kept his hopes…