Almagro collapse hands Murray victory

Murray was leading 6-2, 1-0 when his opponent was forced to retire (REUTERS)

Andy Murray eased into the quarter-finals of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells after fourth-round opponent Nicolas Almagro was forced to retire with an ankle injury. Fourth seed Murray was leading 6-2, 1-0 when his unseeded Spanish opponent was forced to call it a day having already called a medical time out at the end of the first set. Next up for Murray is a tricky looking encounter with sixth-seeded Swede Robin Soderling.

Rafael Nadal was forced to dig deep to see off a player of "unbelievable potential" as the world No 3 booked his place in the quarter-finals.

Nadal, who is returning to action at this tournament following several weeks on the sidelines with a knee injury, required three sets to see off the challenge of the giant American John Isner. The defending champion was looking to avoid joining world No 1 Roger Federer in being eliminated and survived a scare against 6ft 9in Isner to earn a 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 win in two hours and 10 minutes.