ROME - Canadas Milos Raonic defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-6 (5), 6-4 on Thursday to reach the Italian Open quarterfinals. Raonic, the No. 8 seed from Thornhill, Ont., won five of the last six points in the first-set tiebreaker. He picked up a break in the second set en route to his first career victory over the 11th-seeded Frenchman. Tsonga outlasted Raonic in a marathon match at the London Olympics in 2012 and beat him again last year at Indian Wells. Raonic hit seven aces and saved five break point chances on the red clay courts at the Foro Italico. Hell make his fourth Masters 1000 Series quarterfinal appearance of the season Friday against Jeremy Chardy of France. Chardy, who upset Roger Federer of Switzerland in the second round, advanced with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Croatias Ivan Dodig. Raonic has yet to reach a semifinal this year. Also Thursday, Rafael Nadal was pushed to three sets for the second consecutive match before ultimately prevailing to set up a quarterfinal against Andy Murray. The top-ranked Nadal dropped behind a set and a break against Mikhail Youzhny of Russia, then won 11 of the final 12 games to win 6-7 (4), 6-2, 6-1 on another windy day at the Foro Italico. "Get used to (it)," Nadal said of his recent struggles. "With the years thats the normal thing. Everybody suffers. Thats part of the sport." At 27, Nadal believed his best days were probably behind him. "At this age, (Bjorn) Borg was doing other things," said Nadal, a 13-time Grand Slam winner. "Its not possible to win for 10 years with easy scores and easy matches. At the same time, Im sure I can do much better than I am doing." Nadal was looking forward to facing Murray for the first time in more than two years. "I play against one of the top players in the world after two tough days," Nadal said. "If I play well Im going to have my chances, if not Im going to spend the weekend (at home) in Mallorca." Murray eliminated Jurgen Melzer of Austria 7-6 (1), 6-4 to celebrate his 27th birthday. In an upset, the seemingly ageless Tommy Haas beat third-seeded Stanislas Wawrinka 5-7, 6-2, 6-3. On the womens side, Maria Sharapovas 12-match winning streak — which included titles in Stuttgart and Madrid — ended with a 6-1, 6-4 loss to Ana Ivanovic. Showing no signs of trouble from the left thigh injury that forced her to withdraw from Madrid, defending champion Serena Williams cruised past fellow American Varvara Lepchenko 6-1, 6-2. Pushed for three hours by Gilles Simon to nearly midnight a day earlier, Nadal didnt generate the usual depth with his groundstrokes, and began to take control only when Youzhny started committing more unforced errors. "The conditions were very impossible," said Nadal, a seven-time Rome champion. "You always have to find the positive thing. I was able to play with the right motivation even if the feeling was not perfect." Nadal consistently ran around his backhand, a shot that also caused him concern in recent losses to David Ferrer and Nicolas Almagro in Monte Carlo and Barcelona, respectively. Of Nadals 29 winners, only two of them came with his backhand. Haas, the oldest player in the draw at 36, used his expertise to give Wawrinka trouble with heavy topspin. Haas last beat a top-10 player more than a year ago in Miami, where he took out then-No. 1 Novak Djokovic. "These things dont happen too often anymore, so when I take them Im really proud of them," the German said. He has been winning this week in Rome for the first time since he lost the 2002 final to Andre Agassi. Wawrinka cited a back injury that occurred in colder conditions during his opening win. "I couldnt move too well," he said. "Its really nothing serious. Its just painful and I need some rest — maybe a few days." Wawrinka has made a great start by winning the Australian Open and the Monte Carlo Masters but another early exit in last weeks Madrid Open leaves his form in question with the French Open starting in 10 days. Haas quarterfinal opponent will be Grigor Dimitrov, who at 22 is the youngest player in the top 20. Dimitrov rallied past sixth-seeded Tomas Berdych 6-7 (3), 6-2, 6-2. Fifth-seeded David Ferrer beat Ernests Gulbis of Latvia 6-2, 6-3 and will meet either Novak Djokovic or Philipp Kohlschreiber, who were playing late. In womens play, second-seeded Li Na defeated Sam Stosur 6-3, 6-1 and will next meet Sara Errani of Italy, who kept the crowd content by beating Czech qualifier Petra Cetkovska 6-4, 7-6 (3). Also, third-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska eliminated Francesca Schiavone 6-4, 6-1, and will play 2007 and 2008 Rome champion Jelena Jankovic, who got by Flavia Pennetta 6-2, 6-3. 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Chris Carpenter Jersey . Gustafsson controlled the first round after getting top position on a throw, and came out much more forcefully in the second, buckling Manuwa with a Muay Thai knee, and finishing him off with strikes on the ground.TSNs Jack Armstrong offers his thoughts on the surprising Indian Pacers, a passive Chris Bosh, John Beilein as a head coach candidate, Scott Brooks big test and the breakout opportunity for Kawai Leonard. 1. Indiana Pacers: Who were those guys on Sunday? Wow. Where you been? Complete and total all-around performance on both sides of the ball. Can they sustain this for three more wins? Not convinced yet but they surely gained confidence that if they play to the level of their potential like Sunday, they can go toe-to-toe with Miami. 2. Chris Bosh (Heat): Too often was passive on Sunday and didnt exert his will. Hes a tough cover on the perimeter for David West and Roy Hibbert. Must show up and play with more energy and efficency. When hes making his mid-range jumper along with a few 3s, the court gets spaced out and the Heat are tough to stop. Need him engaged defensively and on the boards as well. 3. John Beilein (University of Michigan): Ive said all along the best target for GMs looking for a head coach was Stan Van Gundy. The Pistons made a smart move getting him. Now I will follow up once again on what Ive said many times before. If you are a GM thats progressive and willing to think outside the box instead of hiring a retread former head coach or some name ex-player, go get this guy. Pound for pound as good a coach thats out there today. Some college coaches cant or wwont make the NBA jump.ddddddddddddI have NO doubt that hed be an outstanding coup for a pro team. Hes a brilliant tactician, developer of talent and as imaginative an offensive mind that youll find out there today. It will take an owner and GM that have a true sense of the sport but if I were in the shoes of one of the five current teams with an opening, I would be trying to convince him to join my team. Teams spend a fortune in salaries and trying to develop young players yet throw money away doing the same old, same old. I assure you that this guy has IT. Makes a lot and actually too much sense to me. 4. Scott Brooks (Thunder): With Serge Ibaka out for the series, the head coach of the Thunder needs to mix/match with his front court rotations and find a way to get Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook in space to create tremendous scoring chances yet make sure the ball moves with a purpose and not be too ISO oriented. Balance and proper usage are critical here. Major test of his creativity. 5. Kawai Leonard (Spurs): Last years playoffs were a breakout forum for him and that has to continue here. 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