Melzer tops Nadal in Shanghai Masters

SHANGHAI, Oct. 14 (UPI) -- Jurgen Melzer fired 14 aces in his upset victory Thursday over world No. 1 Rafael Nadal at the Shanghai Masters tennis tournament.

Melzer, seeded 13th, was able to break Nadal's serve three times en route to a 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 third-round win. He hadn't so much as taken a set from Nadal in their previous three meetings, which includes a semifinal loss at the French Open.

But Thursday Melzer quickly established control, pounding seven aces and getting two service breaks in the first set. He didn't face a break point in the third set, serving out at love to finish the match.

Guillermo Garcia-Lopez posted the only other upset of the third round, taking out seventh-seeded Tomas Berdych 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 despite winning just one more point (73-72) in the match.

No. 4 seeded Andy Murray's 6-3, 6-4 victory over Jeremy Chardy had a double payoff. In addition to a berth in the Shanghai quarterfinals, Murray locked up a slot at the ATP's World Finals.

Also Thursday, second-seeded Novak Djokovic blitzed Richard Gasquet 6-1, 6-1 in 58 minutes; No. 3-seeded Roger Federer handled Andreas Seppi, 6-3, 6-4; fifth-seeded Robin Soderling got past David Ferrer 7-5; 6-4; and Juan Monaco advanced with a 6-0, 6-2 rout of Mischa Zverev.

Friday's quarterfinals have Melzer playing Monaco and Murray meeting Tsonga in the top half of the bracket while Federer faces Soderling and Djokovic battles Garcia-Lopez in the lower half.