By Rizwan Rehmat

DOHA: World number one Novak Djokovic of Serbia relied on a ‘solid’ baseline game to beat Spain’s Fernando Verdasco to reach the quarter-finals of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open yesterday.

Djokovic the top seed this week picked up his second successive win inside three days as the Serbian crushed Verdasco 6-2 6-2 in only 69 minutes on the Centre Court at Khalifa Tennis Complex.

Arch-rival and a possible opponent in the title clash on Saturday world number five Rafael Nadal also advanced with a clinical performance against Dutchman Robin Haase yesterday.

Nadal the 2014 champion won 6-3 6-2 in 65 minutes to book a quarter-finals date with Russia’s Andrey Kuznetsov who yesterday beat Lithuania’s Ricardas Berankis 7-6 6-1 in 85 minutes.

In the last match of the day on Centre Court third seed Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic hammered Damir Dzumhur 6-0 6-4 in 65 minutes.

In the quarter-finals today Berdych will meet Britain’s Kyle Edmund who beat or Daniel Munoz De La Nava 5-7 6-3 7-6 in 2 hours 25 minutes

It was Djokovic’s second successive straight set win after his demolition of German qualifier Dustin Brown on Monday.

Today Djokovic will meet eight seed Leonardo Mayer of Argentina in the quarter-finals. Earlier yesterday Mayer beat Spain’s Pablo Andujar 6-2 6-4 in 71 minutes.

“He (Verdasco) is a dangerous player. I tried to ensure he doesn’t settle down” Djokovic said after his match.

“Now the pressure is off me because I have reached another quarter-final in Doha. Now I will play with less pressure. I love coming here. This tournament has been there for more than 20 years” the Serbian added.

When asked about ‘special tips from coach Boris Becker’ Djokovic jokingly said: “He’s told me that I have to win this tournament.”

He added: “I am playing really well. You never know how you are going to start the season so I will take these two wins. Tonight I had a tough opponent who has been around for a long time.”

Djokovic said: “He’s a powerful player and if he has time he can be a very dangerous player. To take the time away from his is a very solid performance.” The star of the 2015 season with 11 titles and more than $21m in prize money Djokovic capitalised on a wayward Verdasco to break the Spaniard in game four of the first set.

In game eight a couple of unforced errors gave Djokovic the edge as the Serbian served broke the Spaniard again to take the first set at 6-2 in just 31 minutes.

With momentum on his side Djokovic supplemented his 3-2 lead in the second set by breaking Verdasco in game six after the Spaniard ended his serve with a double fault following a couple of unforced errors.

Djokovic held his serve in game seven but broke the Spaniard one more time in game eight.

Verdasco returned poorly firing a couple of long returns before Djokovic - on match point - unleashed a powerful forehand from the baseline to signal a ticket to the quarter-finals.

It was Djokovic’s eighth win over Verdasco in 12 matches.

Nadal who is seeking his second trophy triumph in Doha seemed to be in a hurry as he demolished Haase.

“Yes it is a nice feeling. The playing conditions are great here. I feel good because I played a tough opponent” Nadal said. “I want to thank my fans who have come here to support me. I feel good playing in Qatar” he said.

“He (Haase) is an aggressive player. I think he played well in the end of the first set and at the start in the second” Nadal said. “I played a great match. He is an opponent I respect so much.

When asked about his quarter-finals opponent Nadal said he is expecting a ‘tough’ game

“He (Kuznetsov) hits the ball so strong from the baseline. I need to keep playing like this. I hope I can have my chances” the Spaniard said.

Earlier yesterday Jeremy Chardy France wasted little time to crush Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu in straight sets to reach the quarter-finals at the season-opener.

Seeded seven Chardy won 6-2 6-4 in 66 minutes on the Centre Court at Khalifa Tennis Complex. It was Chardy’s third win over Mathieu in five meetings on the ATP Tour.

“I am very happy to win today. It was a tough match and I played with confidence” Chardy who reached semi-finals in Montreal 1000 event last year said.

In other matches yesterday giant-act Illya Marchenko crushed Russia’s Teymuraz Gabashvili 6-4 6-2 on court number one.

On Tuesday Marchenko stunned defending champion David Ferrer in three sets. The Ukrainian will now meet Chardy in the quarter-finals today.

The Peninsula