Murray loses, Djokovic and Nada advance

MADRID - Andy Murray’s struggles continued with a 6-3, 6-3 loss to lucky loser Borna Coric in the third round of the Madrid Open on Thursday, while defending champion Novak Djokovic and four-time champion Rafael Nadal made it to the quarterfinals. Djokovic defeated Spanish veteran Feliciano Lopez 6-4, 7-5, while Nadal eased past Nick Kyrgios of Australia 6-3, 6-1. The fifth-ranked Nadal will play ninth-seeded David Goffin of Belgium, who cruised to a 6-4, 6-2 win over fifth-seeded Milos Raonic of Canada.

On the women’s side, third-seeded Simona Halep of Romania reached the semifinals by beating Coco Vandeweghe of the U.S. 6-1, 6-1 in less than an hour. Halep will play Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia, who defeated Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands 6-3, 6-3. Kristina Mladenovic of France advanced to the final four by overcoming seven double faults to beat Sorana Cirstea of Romania 6-4, 6-4. Mladenovic will play eighthseeded Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia, who easily defeated Canadian Eugenie Bouchard 6-4, 6-0.