Nadal squeaks by at Rotterdam tennis

ROTTERDAM, Netherlands, Feb. 12 (UPI) -- World No. 1 Rafael Nadal advanced Thursday to the quarterfinals of the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament at Rotterdam, Netherlands.

The reigning Australian Open champion finally beat Bulgarian teenager Grigor Dimitrov, the 2008 U.S. Open and Wimbledon boys' singles winner, 7-5, 3-6, 6-2, in a match that lasted 2 ½ hours.

"It was difficult to pick up my rhythm also because he played so fast," Nadal told reporters. "Everyone is talking about pressure, but I feel less pressure after such a good year like 2008."

In other matches Thursday, second-seeded Andy Murray of Scotland beat Italy's Andreas Seppi 7-6 (7-4), 7-5; seventh-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France topped Russian Dmitry Tursunov 7-6 (8-6); Croatia's Mario Ancic knocked off fourth-seeded Gilles Simon of France 6-4, 3-6, 6-3; fifth-seeded Gael Monfils of France topped compatriot Michael Llodra, the defending champion, 6-4, 6-4; and France's Marc Gicquel was a 6-4, 6-3 winner against fellow Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu.