The bottom half quarter-finals of the Sony Ericsson Open on Wednesday are led by former World No. 1s Rafael Nadal, the No. 4 seed, and No. 6 seed Andy Roddick.

In the day session, Roddick, who was No. 1 in 2003 and the Sony Ericsson Open champion in ‘04, meets No. 33 seed Nicolas Almagro of Spain for the first time. In the evening session, Nadal, who finished No. 1 in 2008 and is a two-time runner-up here (2005, ’08), takes a 4-1 lifetime mark against No. 8 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France.

This is the first time in tournament history (since 1985) three Spaniards are in the quarter-finals. On Thursday, the top half of the quarter-finals will be played.

Here is a look at Wednesday’s match-ups:
No. 4 Rafael Nadal vs. No. 8 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga  Nadal leads 4-1
No. 6 Andy Roddick vs. No. 33 Nicolas Almagro  First Meeting

WEDNESDAY QUARTER-FINAL HEAD-TO-HEADS – In Order of Play

(6) Andy Roddick (USA) vs (33) Nicolas Almagro (ESP)  First Meeting

RODDICK FASTFACTS

Tournament Highlights:
• The 27-year-old American comes into the quarter-finals with a 28-9 career record…He is appearing in the quarter-finals (or better) for the seventh time in 11 years…Five of his losses have come to Top 10 opponents (has a 4-5 mark)
• He has yet to drop a set in posting wins over Russian Igor Andreev 64 64, Ukraine native Sergiy Stakhovsky 62 61 and German Benjamin Becker 76(4) 63…Has been broken once thus far while firing 22 aces in his first three wins
• In 2004, he captured the title (d. Coria) and since then his best result was the semi-finals in ‘08 (d. Federer in QF, l. to Davydenko) and quarter-finals in 2006 (l. to Ferrer) and ’07 (ret. vs. Murray)
• Made his breakthrough here in 2001 when he defeated former No. 1 Marcelo Rios (2nd Rd.) and No. 4 ranked Pete Sampras (3rd Rd.) before falling to No. 7 Lleyton Hewitt in the quarter-finals
2010 Highlights:
W: Brisbane (d Stepanek); F: San Jose (l Verdasco); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells (l Ljubicic); QF: Australian Open (l Cilic); Memphis (l Querrey)

2010 in Review:
• The Austin, Texas resident has a 23-4 record this year on the ATP World Tour (most match wins and matches played) and he’s coming off a runner-up effort on Mar. 21 in Indian Wells (l. to Ljubicic)… He also leads the ATP World Tour with a 15-4 mark in tie-breaks
• Last month he reached the final in San Jose where he lost to Spaniard Fernando Verdasco 36 64 64 and followed with a quarter-final in Memphis (l. to eventual champ Querrey)… The top American opened the season by capturing his 28th career ATP World Tour title in Brisbane (d. Stepanek) to extend his title streak to 10 consecutive years (tied w/Federer among active players)…
Then followed by reaching the quarter-finals at the Australian Open (l. to Cilic in five sets)
• He came into the tournament No. 2 on ATP World Tour in aces (321) behind Karlovic (385) and leader in service games won (91%) and No. 2 in first serve points won (80%)

ATP World Tour Masters 1000 History:
• Has a career record of 138-57 since playing his first Masters 1000 tournament in Miami (falling second round to Agassi) in 2000…Owns a 4-4 in finals, winning his last Masters 1000 title in Cincinnati in 2006 (d. Ferrero)…Also won there in 2003 (d. Fish)…His other titles have come in Montreal in 2003 (d. Nalbandian) and Miami in 2004 (d. Coria, ret.)

Miscellaneous:
• In 2009, the top American finished in the Top 10 for an eighth consecutive season at No. 7…He and Federer have the longest streak among active players on the ATP World Tour
• His 28 career titles is No. 3 among active players on the ATP World Tour, behind Federer (62) and Nadal (36)
• Here with coach Larry Stefanki and fitness trainer Doug Spreen (former ATP World Tour trainer)

ALMAGRO FASTFACTS

Tournament Highlights:
• The 24-year-old Spaniard is making his first appearance in the quarter-finals (5-4 record) and came in as the No. 33 seed when No. 13 Gael Monfils withdrew due to a wrist injury…Has posted wins over Argentine Eduardo Schwank 64 75, Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 62 67(9) 63 and No. 27 seed Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil 64 36 76(3)…He’s also in the doubles quarter-finals (w/Robredo)
• His previous best finishes were the third round in 2007 (l. to Federer) and ’08 (l. to No. 11 Youzhny)
 
2010 Highlights:
QF: Acapulco (l Ferrero)
 
2010 In Review:
• The Murcia native is playing in his sixth ATP World Tour tournament of the year (12-6 overall, 9-3 on hard)…In his last tournament in Indian Wells he retired with a left ankle injury in the 4th Rd. at 2-6 0-1 down vs. No. 4 Andy Murray
• His best result of the year was the quarter-finals on clay in Acapulco in late February (l. to Ferrero after back-to-back titles in 2008-09)
• In January, he reached a career-best 4th Rd. at Australian Open (l. to Tsonga 9-7 in fifth set)…The previous tournament in Auckland he fractured his left wrist in 1st Rd. doubles match on Jan. 12 (in singles after 1st Rd. bye, l. to Gicquel in 2nd Rd.)
• In Spain’s first round Davis Cup home win over Switzerland on Mar. 5-7 , he lost to Stanislas Wawrinka in five sets in opening rubber and beat Marco Chiudinelli in dead rubber
• At No. 38, he is the eighth-ranked Spaniard (among 12 in Top 100)
 
ATP World Tour Masters 1000 History
• Has a 30-30 career match record and appearing in his fifth quarter-final, the second on hard courts…His previous QF finishes were at 2006 Rome, 2007 Hamburg & Cincinnati, 2008 Rome

Miscellaneous:
• In 2009, finished in Top 30 for third straight year at No. 26, highlighted by Acapulco title
• Has a 5-2 career record in ATP World Tour finals, all on clay…His career record on clay is 114-71 (.616) and 34-44 (.436) on hard courts
• Has a 7-21 career mark against Top 10 opponents and his highest-ranked win came over No. 4 Safin in 2nd Rd. of Rome in 2005…Has never beaten a Top 10 on hard courts (0-10, winning four sets)
• He reached a career-high No. 11 on July 7, 2008 - spent one week there
• Working with former Carlos Moya mentor Jose Perlas (since September 2009)

(8) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) vs (4) Rafael Nadal (ESP) Nadal Leads 4-1
07 US Open (U.S.A.) Hard R32 Rafael Nadal 7-6(3) 6-2 6-1
08 Australian Open (Australia) Hard SF Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-2  6-3 6-2
08 ATP Masters Series Indian Wells  Hard R16 Rafael Nadal 6-7(4) 7-6(3) 7-5
09 Rotterdam (The Netherlands) Hard QF Rafael Nadal 6-4 6-7(5) 6-4
09 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Paris  Hard QF Rafael Nadal 7-5 7-5

TSONGA FASTFACTS

Tournament Highlights:
• The 24-year-old Frenchman is appearing in the quarter-finals for the second straight year…Last season he lost to Novak Djokovic…Has a 7-2 career mark and has yet to drop a set in the tournament…He opened with a 64 63 win over Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, followed with a 62 75 victory over No. 28 seed Philipp Kohlschreiber and posted a 62 62 triumph over No. 12 seed Juan Carlos Ferrero
• Last year he was the first Frenchman to reach the quarter-finals in Miami since 1999 when Sebastien Grosjean reached the final (l. to Krajicek) and Jerome Golmard advanced to the quarter-finals (l. to Enqvist)…Grosjean is the only Frenchman to reach the final in the tournament’s history
• In his debut in 2008, came in ranked No. 12 and defeated Jurgen Melzer in three sets (after a bye) before losing in the third round to countryman Julien Benneteau

2010 Highlights:
SF: Australian Open (l Federer); Marseille (l Benneteau)
 
2010 In Review:
• The top Frenchman on the ATP World Tour enters his third quarter-final (or better) with a 14-5 match record on the season (all on hard courts) and in his last tournament reached the 4th Rd. in Indian Wells (l. to No. 7 Soderling)
• He opened the season by reaching the semi-finals at the Australian Open (d. No. 3 Djokovic in five sets, l. to Federer) and in February the semis in Marseille (l. to Benneteau)…Then lost in 2nd Rd. in Dubai (l. to Ljubicic)
• In opening Davis Cup tie Mar. 5-7 against Germany, he defeated Benjamin Becker in four sets in second rubber and retired with sprained ankle in dead rubber against Simon Greul

ATP World Tour Masters 1000 History:
• Has a career record of 28-16 with his best result a title in Paris in 2008 (d. Nalbandian)…Also a semi-finalist in Montreal last year (d. Federer after trailing 1-5 in third set, l. to Murray)
• In doubles, captured title in Shanghai last year (w/Benneteau)

Miscellaneous:
• In 2009, finished in Top 10 for second straight year at No. 10, highlighted by a career-best 53-20 match record…Won three ATP World Tour titles – Johannesburg, Marseille and Tokyo
• In 2008, ranked a year-end best No. 6 and began the season by reaching his first Grand Slam final at the Australian Open (l. to Djokovic)
• Has a 15-16 career mark against Top 10 opponents (5-5 in ’09), with seven wins over Top 5 foes
• Has a 5-1 career record in ATP World Tour finals and has never reached a final in the U.S.

NADAL FASTFACTS

Tournament Highlights:
• The 23-year-old Spaniard enters the quarter-finals for the fifth time in seven appearances with a 20-6 career record with his best results a runner-up finish in 2005 (l. to Federer in five sets) and in 2008 (l. to Davydenko)…Also a quarter-finalist in 2007 (l. to Djokovic) and last year (l. to del Potro)
• He opened the tournament Friday with a 64 63 victory over American Taylor Dent and followed on Sunday with a 67(8) 62 62 win over Argentine wild card David Nalbandian and Tuesday beat countryman and No. 15 seed David Ferrer 76(4) 64
2010 Highlights:
F: Doha (l Davydenko); SF: ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells (l Ljubicic); QF: Australian Open (l Murray)

2010 in Review:
• The World No. 4 (will return to No. 3 next Monday) has a 15-3 mark on the season (all on hard courts) and he’s appearing in his fourth quarter-final or better in as many tournaments
• He’s coming off his second semi-final of the year in Indian Wells (l. to eventual champ Ljubicic in third set tie-break)…He also captured his sixth career ATP World Tour doubles title there (w/M. Lopez)
• He opened the campaign with a runner-up in Doha (l. to Davydenko, held two match points) and followed with a quarter-final at the Australian Open where he retired with a right knee injury (vs. Murray) on Jan. 26
• His last title came at ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Rome (d. Djokovic) last May…Has played in 12 tournaments since the title

ATP World Tour Masters 1000 History
• Has an outstanding 164-34 career match record and a 15-6 mark in finals, winning at least two titles in each of the past five years (2005-09)…Won a personal-best four in 2005 and three each in 2007-08-09
• He’s won at least 20 matches in four different ATP Masters 1000 tournaments – Monte Carlo (29-1), Indian Wells (26-4), Rome (22-1) and Miami (20-6) but still looking to win the title here for the first time
• Has reached the final in eight of the current nine Masters 1000 finals (except Cincinnati)…He also won the former Masters 1000 tournament in Hamburg in 2008 and was runner-up in ‘07

Miscellaneous:
• In 2008, he became the first left-hander to finish No. 1 since John McEnroe in 1984, in addition to becoming first Spaniard as year-end No. 1 in history of ATP Rankings (since 1973)…Spent 46 weeks at No. 1 before Federer regained the top ranking on July 6, ’09 (after capturing Wimbledon title)
• He has a 61-35 career record vs. Top 10 opponents and looking to break a six-match losing streak since defeating No. 9 Tsonga in the quarter-finals at ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Paris last November…Since beating No. 4 Djokovic in a 4:03 marathon in the semi-finals of Madrid last May, has an 1-11 mark with his lone win over Tsonga
• In ’08, captured his fourth straight Roland Garros crown (d. Federer) and became first player since Borg in 1978-81 to accomplish feat...Also first player since Borg in 1980 to win without dropping a set in Paris
• His 31-match winning streak came to an end last year in Paris as Robin Soderling won 4th Rd. battle