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RIO DE JANEIRO - Rafael Nadal showed no problem with his tender back in his second match since returning from the injury, defeating fellow Spaniard Albert Montanes 6-1, 6-2 to reach the quarterfinals of the Rio Open on Thursday. The No. 1-ranked Nadal tweaked his back warming up for the Australian Open final, which he lost almost four weeks ago in a major upset against Stanislas Wawrinka. His first stop after the layoff is the clay in Rio as he tests the back and tries to stay healthy for the French Open in three months. A year ago he used the Latin American swing to test his recovery from an injured left knee. Nadal seemed to move freely against Montanes and wore a large, blue elastic bandage on his lower back as a precaution. "The back, well, its bothering me a little," Nadal said. "Right now its not hurting my game, but Im serving a little more gently than Im used to doing." Nadal said he pushed his recovery "a little bit" to play in Rio, after pulling out of the tournament the week before in Buenos Aires. "I am here and very happy being here," he said. "When you get an injury in the final of a Grand Slam, and you stop (playing/practicing) for 2 1/2 weeks, the comeback is not easy." Asked if nagging injuries might force an early retirement, the 27-year-old joked a bit before getting serious. "I cant predict the future, but my intention is to play many years," he said. In the other key mens match, third-seeded Fabio Fognini reached the last eight beating Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay 7-6 (1), 4-6, 6-3. Second-seeded David Ferrer advanced on Wednesday. Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine advanced to his second quarterfinals of the year, beating Facundo Bagnis of Argentina 6-7 (4), 6-2, 7-6 (4). Dolgopolov said he hadnt considered leaving the tournament to return to his Kyiv birthplace, where more than 100 people have died in anti-government protests this week. Government snipers killed at least 70 on Thursday. "Its sad. I cant do much, but just support," he said. "Whoever is right doesnt matter now when people are dying." Dolgopolov, who lives in the wealthy European enclave of Monte Carlo, said he was lucky to have the chance to make money playing tennis. "Obviously I would like the people in the (Ukraine) to feel better. If I could, I would change that," he said. On the womens side of the combined ATP-WTA event, fifth-seeded Kurumi Nara of Japan and Lourdes Dominguez Lino of Spain set up a quarterfinal matchup after second-round wins. Nara defeated Anna-Lena Friedsam of Germany 6-0, 7-6 (3), and was in sight of her first WTA semifinals. Dominguez Lino beat Chanelle Scheepers of South Africa 2-6, 7-6 (7), 6-1. Nara said she likes the hot weather in Rio and is getting used to the clay. "Now I like the clay court," she said. "Last year, I didnt like it." Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania also made the last eight, as did Brazils Teliana Pereira. She is the first Brazilian woman in 23 years to crack the WTAs top 100. The last was Andrea Vieira. Brazils most famous womens player is Maria Bueno, who won seven Grand Slams singles titles, the last at the US Open in 1966. Cheap Nike Authentic Air Jordan . Red Sox outfielder Jonny Gomes, the bandleader of the beard brigade during Bostons run to the 2013 World Series title, said he will be shaving his off before spring training so that he can file it "in the archive" with his memories of the teams improbable championship. Cheap Authentic Air Jordan Online . The fourth-year guard from Carleton University kicked off his varsity career with rookie of the year honours in 2011, before racking up three straight Mike Moser Memorial Trophies for outstanding player. http://www.cheapauthenticairjordan.com/ . "We cannot stay the same way the whole season long," said Reyes. "This is not acceptable. Something needs to change because were a better team than what were showing right now. Its a long season and we just need to continue to push." Its been a frustrating week for the ballclub. Authentic Air Jordan Outlet . Jamies number grades given are out of five, with five being the best mark. Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers (4) – He had a strong game Sunday; was very good in tight with big saves on Crosby, Malkin and Neal in-crease. Authentic Air Jordan China .J. -- Pitcher Carl Pavano is retiring after 14 major league seasons.ATLANTA -- The Braves insisted they werent trying to hit Bryce Harper. They were just going for the knockout punch in the NL East race against the Nationals. Justin Upton hit a home run with one out in the 10th inning to power Atlanta to a 3-2 win over Washington on Friday night as the Braves continued their domination of the season series. The Braves, who swept a three-game series at Washington on Aug. 5-7, lead the season series 11-3, including six straight wins. Jason Heyward had two hits and scored one run for Atlanta, which stretched its lead over the second-place Nationals to 15 1/2 games. "Theres a lot of baseball to be played," Upton said. "Our lead is pretty big right now, but crazier things have happened in baseball. Youve got to go out and win as many games as you can." Uptons 23rd homer to left-centre came on a 2-2 pitch from Ian Krol (1-1). It was his third career game-winning homer and second of the season. "Its a great feeling when you can go out and win the ballgame for your team," Upton said. "Theres nothing like that." Scott Downs (2-0) pitched a scoreless 10th for Atlanta. Harper was hit by pitches in the fourth and eighth innings by Alex Wood and Luis Avilan, respectively. Home plate umpire Marty Foster warned both benches after Avilan hit Harper on his shoulder in the eighth. Washingtons players rose to the top of the dugout but didnt come onto the field. It wasnt the first time Harper had been hit by a pitch against the Braves this month. Both Atlanta pitchers insisted they didnt try to hit Harper. "I tried not to look at him," Wood said of Harper. "It was embarrassing to hit somebody with a curveball." Avilan was trying to protect a 2-1 lead when he hit Harper. "I didnt want to put the runner on," Avilan said. "I was like, I hope he doesnt think I did it on purpose. Were leading 2-1. ... I felt bad because I almost hit him in the head because its dangerous, you know." Harper did not talk with reporters after the game. Nationals manager Davey Johnson said he thought Avilan should have been thrown out of the game. Asked if he thought Braves pitchers were trying to hit Harper, Johnson said, "I hope not, because its ridiculous. In a close ballgame, theyve got a lot more to lose than we do at this point, so it would be a ridiculous thing to do. "After he got hit the second time they should have thrown (Avilan) out of the balllgame and be done with it.dddddddddddd But its their choice." On Aug. 6, both benches emptied when Harper was hit by Julio Teheran in the Braves 2-1 win at Washington. Downs threw an inside pitch past Harper to the backstop before walking Harper with one out in the 10th. Jayson Werth hit into a double play to end the inning. Wood gave up one run and five hits and no walks and a career-high nine strikeouts in 6 1-3 innings. Washingtons Taylor Jordan did not allow an earned run, but was hurt by three errors. Jordan allowed two runs, both unearned, and seven hits and three walks in six innings. Heyward led off the first inning with a single and took off for second base on ball four to Upton. Washington catcher Wilson Ramos made an unnecessary and wild throw to second base for an error, allowing Heyward to advance to third before scoring on Freddie Freemans double play grounder. Paul Janish, starting at second base after the Braves announced Tyler Pastornicky would need season-ending knee surgery, singled to lead off the third. After Janish advanced to third on Heywards single, shortstop Ian Desmond fielded Uptons grounder and threw to second to force Heyward. Second baseman Anthony Rendon attempted to complete the double play, but threw wild to first for an error, allowing Janish to score for a 2-0 lead. There was no reaction from Harper when he was hit by a pitch from Wood to lead off the fourth. Harper calmly jogged to first base and then made a comment to Freeman at the bag, prompting both to laugh. Harper advanced to third on Werths single and scored when Desmond hit into a double play. Harper wasnt laughing after he was hit by Avilans pitch in the eighth following a double by Ryan Zimmerman. Luis Ayala replaced Avilan and gave up a single to Werth as the Nationals pulled even at 2-2. NOTES: Upton also hit a game-winning homer against the Cubs on April 6. ... RHP Drew Storen, recalled from Triple-A Syracuse on Thursday, pitched a scoreless ninth. ... Braves 2B Phil Gosselin, recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett, made his major league debut as a defensive replacement in the 10th. ... Braves RHP Jordan Walden, who hadnt pitched since taking a liner off his pitching hand on Saturday, said his hand is fully recovered. ... The series continues Saturday night when Atlantas Mike Minor will try for his 13th win against Washingtons Stephen Strasburg, who is only 6-9 despite a 2.83 ERA. ' ' '