World number one Novak Djokovic followed number two Rafa Nadal out of the Madrid Open when he was upset by Serbian compatriot Janko Tipsarevic 7-6 6-3 in the quarter-finals on the heavily criticized blue clay courts on Friday. The top-ranked pair have complained bitterly about the slippery nature of the show court surface at the Masters event and Djokovic again looked ill at ease as his bid to retain the title he beat Nadal to win in 2011 ended with a whimper. Nadal was beaten by fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco in the third round on Thursday and both he and Djokovic have threatened not to return next year unless the traditional red dirt courts are reinstated. Tipsarevic, seeded seventh, squandered three match points on the Djokovic serve when leading 5-2 in the second set but made no mistake on his next service game to set up a semi-final with third seed Roger Federer or fifth-seeded Spaniard David Ferrer. "I want to forget this week as soon as possible and move on to the real claycourts," Djokovic, who will be chasing a first French Open crown in Paris starting later this month, told a news conference. "It took me at least a week to try to get used to this surface and somehow find a way to win matches and play a decent level of tennis," he added. "There is no discussion in my eyes, it's very simple. No blue clay for me." Tomas Berdych brought local favorite Verdasco, whose win against Nadal was his first in 14 attempts, crashing back to earth when he thrashed the 15th seed 6-1 6-2 earlier on Friday. The sixth-seeded Czech, who thumped French 12th seed Gael Monfils 6-1 6-1 to reach the last eight, comfortably ended a two-match losing streak to his opponent on clay to set up a semi-final against Juan Martin Del Potro. The 2009 U.S. Open champion, undefeated in 10 clay matches this season and winner in Estoril last week, eased to a 6-3 6-4 victory against Ukrainian 16th seed Alexandr Dolgopolov. "I am really happy with my tennis, with my body and I am feeling really confident on clay," Del Potro, who had an eight-month layoff in 2010 due to a wrist injury, told a news conference. "I don't feel any pain so it's a good sign for the next tournament and I think I'm getting better tournament by tournament," the 23-year-old added. (For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter: @AO Sports)
