BARCELONA, Spain -- Top-ranked Rafael Nadal looked more like his confident self on the clay in passing Ivan Dodig of Croatia 6-3

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BARCELONA, Spain -- Top-ranked Rafael Nadal looked more like his confident self on the clay in passing Ivan Dodig of Croatia 6-3, 6-3, to reach the Barcelona Open quarterfinals on Thursday. Air Force 1 Scontate . Nadal was struggling with his game coming into the event and an unconvincing opening victory on Wednesday did little to calm the nerves. But Nadal looked more assured as he ousted the 37th-ranked Dodig in 83 minutes in the third round. Nadal moves on to face fellow Spanish player Nicolas Almagro in an early rematch of last seasons final, which Nadal won for his eight title at the tournament in the Catalan capital. Almagro advanced after beating Fernando Verdasco 6-3, 6-3. Dodigs attempts to come forward were met with passing shots from Nadal, who finally broke for 3-2 after coming to the net to force Dodig into netting a return. Dodig broke right back but Nadal had found his rhythm as he forced Dodig into 15 errors in the first set, when he won the last three games for the lead. Nadal maintained his play to start the second set, when he made fewer errors and seemed to grow in confidence to break Dodig for the fourth time as he sealed the win. "Theres still some work to do but I definitely took a step forward from yesterday. I move on feeling more assured," Nadal said. "I needed this game." Earlier, fourth-seeded Kei Nishikori beat Andrey Golubev of Kazakhstan 6-0, 6-4. Nishikori had been sidelined by a groin injury since beating Roger Federer four weeks ago. Russian player Teymuraz Gabashvili followed up his win over fifth-ranked David Ferrer with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over another Spaniard, Inigo Cervantes, to reach the quarterfinals. Ernests Gulbis of Latvia, Marin Cilic of Croatia, and Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany all won to advance. Nike Air Presto Italia . DeGrom outpitched Jake Peavy in a tantalizing hitless duel that carried into the seventh inning Saturday night before the New York Mets broke loose and beat the San Francisco Giants 4-2. Air Force 1 Just Do It False . Louis Blues and back into top spot of the TSN.ca NHL Power Rankings. The Sharks had been ranked No. http://www.airforce1justdoit.it/air-force-1-uomo-scontate.html . - Regan Smith had the checkered flag in sight at Daytona a year ago and a freight train of cars in his rearview mirror.BRISBANE, Australia -- Roger Federer and Lleyton Hewitt earned three-set victories on Saturday to set up a meeting in the Brisbane International final, renewing a rivalry that stretches back to the last millennium. Federer beat No. 8-seeded Jeremy Chardy 6-3, 6-7 (3), 6-3 in a semifinal featuring just two service breaks, immediately after Hewitts 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 win over second-seeded Kei Nishikori of Japan. The pair of 32-year-old former No. 1s have met 26 times dating back to Hewitts win at Lyon in 1999. Federer leads their head-to-head record 18-8, including 16 wins in their last 17 matches, and has 17 Grand Slam titles to Hewitts two. "We go way back," Federer said. "My rivalry with him was pretty intense. Never nasty or anything, but just good matches. "Were total opposite from one another the way we play. ... I think thats why its always an interesting matchup for both of us." Hewitt is coming back from long-term foot and toe injuries, is ranked in the 60s and is into his first final on home soil since losing the Australian Open decider to Marat Safin in 2005 -- that last time he went beyond the semifinals at a major. The last time they met in a final, Hewitt broke Federers streak of 15 wins in head-to-heads with a comeback victory in three sets at Halle in 2010. That was the last of Hewitts 28 career titles. Federer has won 77 titles, the last being at Halle last year. "You want to play against the best players, and obviously Roger and I have a good history and a lot of tough matches in the past in slams and Davis Cups and everything,&quoot; Hewitt said. Nike Sb Scarpe. "Were the same age. We grew up together. Hes a great guy. I have the upmost respect for him, not only as a player but for what he does off the court as well." Hewitt handled the heat better than his Japanese opponent as the temperatures topped 104 F (40 C), and his grinding style paid dividends as the match extended to 2 1/2 hours. He "I love a battle," said Hewitt, who won the U.S. Open in 2001 and Wimbledon in 2002 and spent 80 weeks at No. 1 before Federer assumed the top ranking and held onto it for 4 1/2 years. "Mentally this is a major win to have come back and gone the distance." Federer said he struggled against Hewitt earlier in his career before getting on top in the rivalry. Now both married with kids, theyre occasional practice partners and get on well. Both players have reflected on a Davis Cup semifinal between Australia and Switzerland at Rod Laver Arena in 2003 as the turning point in their rivalry, and in Federers career. Hewitt rallied from two sets and a break down to win that match, but it still changed Federers mindset for the better. "I was ... serving for the match, ended up losing 6-1 in the fifth," Federer recalled Saturday. "It really proved to me that I could play great tennis not just for a set, two sets, but three sets or maybe even longer against the toughest guys out there. "And for me to be able to not just do it tennis-wise but physically and mentally gave me the big belief that I could hang with the best -- then I went on a run like I did." ' ' '