Nadal and Roddick roar into quarters

Second seed Rafael Nadal eased into the quarter-finals of the Pacific Life Open on Tuesday with a 6-1 6-1 victory over fellow Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero.

The world number two, favourite for the title after top seed Roger Federer's surprise second round exit, was joined in the last eight by Andy Roddick, the third seeded American advancing with a 7-6 6-3 win over France's Richard Gasquet.

The Spaniard will next play Argentina's Juan Ignacio Chela, a 6-4 6-4 winner over American Michael Russell, while Roddick faces Croatian eighth seed Ivan Ljubicic, who overcame number 10 David Nalbandian 2-6 6-4 6-2.

Nadal lost to the former French Open champion in their last meeting at the 2006 Cincinnati Masters, but he completely dominated proceedings on Tuesday, controlling the court with huge forehands and his relentless running down of every shot.

"I'm happy with my game right now," Nadal told reporters. "I know Juan Carlos made more mistakes than usual but I played very well, without mistakes. I was so much better with the backhand today and my serve was very secure."

The two-times French Open champion has not won a title since his repeat triumph at Roland Garros last year, but with Federer out of the way, he stands a good chance of winning a first US Masters Series crown.

Roddick dominated Gasquet with his serve, sending down 15 aces and never allowing his opponent a break point. He was also efficient at the net, winning 15 of 22 approaches.

Roddick has a 6-3 record against Ljubicic but he is not taking his next opponent lightly in his quest for a first title since last year's Cincinnati Masters.

"It will be a tough one," Roddick said of the big-serving Croat.

"It's just going to be a matter of who can get some chances to break. He's going to serve well."

Russia's Vera Zvonareva staged a remarkable comeback to send defending champion Maria Sharapova crashing out of the Pacific Life Open on Tuesday, completing a day of major upsets in the women's draw.

The 15th seed battled back from a set and a break down to overcome the world number one 4-6 7-5 6-1 in the all-Russian fourth round match, setting up a quarter-final against China's Li Na, who upset Serb seventh seed Jelena Jankovic 6-3 7-6.

By failing to defend all her points after taking the title last year, the 19-year-old Sharapova will lose her number one spot to Justine Henin when the new rankings are issued next week.

Martina Hingis, Nadia Petrova and Anna Chakvetadze were also dumped out of the tournament, leaving second seed Svetlana Kuznetsova and number six Nicole Vaidisova as the highest ranked players left in the draw.

Switzerland's Hingis, seeded three, was beaten 6-4 6-3 by 14th seed Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia, while Petrova pulled out of her match against France's Tatiana Golovin due to a heat exhaustion.