Nadal Battles Past Istomin, Sets Lopez QF Clash

© Getty ImagesRafael Nadal won an ATP World Tour-best 40th match of the season.

World No. 1 Rafael Nadal won his 40th tour-level match of the season Thursday at The Queen’s Club, but it was not without a fight. For the first time since being extended to three sets in the Madrid semi-finals last month, the Spaniard lost a set of tennis as he battled past Uzbekistan’s Denis Istomin 7-6(4), 4-6, 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals of the AEGON Championships.

The top seed, who won the ATP World Tour 250 grass-court tournament in 2008 (d. Djokovic), was pushed all the way by the No. 16-seeded Istomin. Nadal looked to have broken decisively in the eighth game of the final set, but squandered two match points as he failed to serve out victory in the following game. The Spaniard finally secured his hard-fought win in the following game, converting his third match point with a forehand passing shot down the line after three hours and 53 minutes.

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“It wasn't easy for me,” Nadal admitted. “The day was difficult, too, a lot of wind. The positive thing is I was there mentally in the third. I finished the match playing better and winning the match.

"He's a good player," added the Mallorcan. "I think his game adapts very well to this surface. He plays flat and has a good serve. I think he can have good result in Wimbledon if he keep playing like this. My serve today was worse than the last few days, and I lost the serve three times, so that's too much, I think, to play well on this surface in three sets."

The 24-year-old Nadal, who will feature at the season-ending Barclays ATP World Tour Finals at The O2 in November, came to London the day after winning his seventh Grand Slam championship at Roland Garros (d. Soderling). The Spaniard is through to the quarter-finals for the fourth time in four appearances at The Queen’s Club.

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"Always difficult," said Nadal, looking ahead to the clash. "He's a very good player on grass, big serve, very good volley. Always is very difficult opponent, but for me every moment on court is a good moment to keep improving. And to have a difficult test like tomorrow is good, too."

In an all-Spanish quarter-final, Nadal will face eighth seed Feliciano Lopez, who overcame ninth-seeded Frenchman Julien Benneteau 6-2, 6-4 in 63 minutes. The left-handed Lopez lost only 10 points on serve and converted all three break point chances he created to set a seventh meeting with Nadal; Nadal leads their head-to-head 5-1.

Michael Llodra, the No. 12 seed and Open 13 titlist (d. Benneteau) in February, knocked out fifth seed Marin Cilic of Croatia 7-6(2), 6-2 in 82 minutes. Cilic, a winner of two ATP World Tour titles from three finals this year, dropped to a 30-10 mark.

Llodra will need to wait until Friday to learn the identity of his quarter-final opponent after the match between defending champion Andy Murray and Mardy Fish was suspended due to darkness with the score finally balanced at 4-6, 6-1, 3-3. Murray had just rallied to level at 3-3, having trailed 1-3 in the final set, when the supervisor made the decision to suspend the match.