Two-time defending champion, Novak Djokovic booked his spot in the quarter-finals of the Shanghai Masters after a hard-fought 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 victory over No. 85-ranked Mikhail Kukushkin.
Kukushkin, who entered the match with a 1-15 record against top-10 players, had 35 winners to 27 for Djokovic. The Russian-born Kazakh player will next face David Ferrer, who boosted his chances of qualifying for the ATP finals with a 2-6, 6-1, 6-2 win over Andy Murray.
Both Murray and Ferrer are fighting to claim one of the remaining spots in the eight-man tournament next month in London. With the win, Ferrer will now pass Murray into ninth place in the standings, just behind Milos Raonic in eighth.
Meanwhile, Roger Federer also reached the quarterfinals with an easy 6-4, 6-2 win over Roberto Bautista Agut. Sixth-seeded Tomas Berdych also advanced, beating Ivo Karlovic 6-3, 6-4.
The Czech player is the only seed remaining on the bottom half of the draw after Nadal, Stan Wawrinka, Marin Cilic, Milos Raonic and Ernests Gulbis were all knocked out. No. 13-seeded John Isner also lost to Spaniard Feliciano Lopez, 6-3, 6-4.
Berdych will next face Gilles Simon of France in the quarterfinals, while Lopez takes on Russian Mikhail Youzhny. Federer plays French veteran Julien Benneteau, who defeated Jack Sock of the United States, 6-3, 6-4.
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