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The quarter-final victory in one hour, 47 minutes, secured Roddick a place against Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic, who beat Russian Igor Andreev 6-2, 6-1 in less than an hour.

 Roddick put on a serving master class, firing 17 aces including two to conclude. The American trailed 0-3 in the first-set tiebreaker.

 "I knew I was hitting well from the first point," said Roddick, who dropped the bombshell that he has split with coach and advisor Jimmy Connor after less than two years together.

 "It was a fast court, the crowd was really into it - I knew I could never get better conditions against Rafa. I tried to take advantage."

   Since being bundled out in a bad-tempered and pouting third-round embarrassment at the Australian Open, the former number one has been on a roll, helping the US to a Davis Cup first-round win in Vienna against Austria and winning a title in San Jose.

 He was beaten last week in the Memphis quarter-finals by Swede Robin Soderling.

 "I'm not as skilled and certainly not as fast as some of the guys - but I can hit the ball," said Roddick.

 Nadal said he felt the pressure against the on-target Roddick attack: "I didn't play badly, I'm not disappointed with the match.

 "I played much better in this match than I was at the start of the week and he played very well."

   Fifth seed Nikolay Davydenko shifted emphasis from clearing his name to working his game, showing his renewed dedication with a 7-5, 6-4 defeat of Andy Murray.

 The Russian won the last five games after trailing 0-3 and next faces Feliciano Lopez after the Spaniard ousted fourth-seeded compatriot David Ferrer 6-4, 6-3.

 Davydenko has been under a cloud since last summer after losing a clay match in Poland under what the ATP considered suspicious circumstances, stopping play in the third set with a foot injury after winning the first.

 "Online betting firms were alarmed when approximately seven million dollars was wagered on the obscure second-round clash with Argentine Martin Arguello-Vassallo.

 A probe into a possible betting scandal has dragged on since, with the Russian now bored with the drawn-out process.

 "Ive been fine this year," said Davydenko, who had lost his last three matches to the 11th-ranked Scot Murray. "There is no pressure now.

 "Im just concentrating on my game. Im trying to do well this season," said the winner of 11 titles. "I have not heard anything from the ATP recently.

 "But I think there will be come kind of a decision in late March. Maybe this will all end by the end of this year - or maybe when Im out of tennis."

   Murray struck six aces as his level declined for the second straight match after stunning four-time champion Roger Federer in Mondays first round.

 He scraped through against Spaniard Fernando Verdasco in the second round, complaining of a chronic knee problem.

 "The knee felt about the same but its not the reason I lost," said the Scot, winner of two titles this season. "Its still been a good week, not terrible at all.

 "I beat the world number one and got into the outdoor season. The ball flies the same here as it does at Indian Wells (first of the Masters Series events starting next weekend).

 "This is good preparation for a month in America. At least I now get to spend time at home before travelling," said the London-based 20-year-old.

By Bill Scott, dpa