TOKYO, Oct 3: Defending champion David Ferrer and Richard Gasquet eliminated local hopes to stay on course for a re-run of last year’s final at the Japan Open tennis tournament on Thursday.
The Spanish top seed, the winner at Valencia and s-Hertogenbosch this season, got off to a slow start but recovered to overcome Japanese wild card Takao Suzuki with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 win.
Gasquet, fourth seed from France, ended Japanese teenage sensation Kei Nishikori’s excellent run with a 6-1, 6-2 victory to stay on course for a probable semi-final clash against Ferrer.
Ferrer faced nine aces off Suzuki to lose his game twice in the first set but stood firm in the last two sets and never faced a single break point.
Gasquet had an easier time, staying on the court for only 55 minutes and never giving Nishikori a break point. Gasquet, 32, fired three consecutive aces to close the match out.
Nishikori made his professional debut last year here and claimed his first title at Delray Beach in February to become only the second Japanese man to win an ATP title.
Gasquet will next face the 2003 Japan Open champion Rainer Schuettler of Germany, who was stretched the distance to beat Mikhail Youzhny of Russia 6-3, 6-7 (12-14), 6-4.
American second seed Andy Roddick overcame Austria’s Jurgen Melzer 7-6 (7-2), 6-2, while Viktor Troicki of Serbia earned a place against Roddick when Jo Wilfried Tsonga of France, the Australian Open runner-up, retired with an injury.
The other quarter-final will be played between Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic and Fernando Gonzalez of Chile. Berdych outclassed Spain’s Tommy Robredo 7-6 (8-6), 6-2, and Gonzalez downed American Amer Delic 6-4, 7-6 (7-4).
Thursday’s results (prefix number denotes seeding):
Men’s:
Third round: 5-Juan Martin Del Potro (Argentina) bt 11-Jarkko Nieminen (Finland) 6-1, 6-3; Viktor Troicki (Serbia) bt 7-Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (France) 5-7, 2-1 (Tsonga retired); 2-Andy Roddick (US) bt 14-Juergen Melzer (Austria) 7-6(2), 6-2; 3-Fernando Gonzalez (Chile) bt Amer Delic (US) 6-4, 7-6(4); 12-Rainer Schuettler (Germany) bt 8-Mikhail Youzhny (Russia) 6-3, 6-7(12), 6-4; 4-Richard Gasquet (France) bt Kei Nishikori (Japan) 6-1, 6-2; 9-Tomas Berdych (Czech Republic) bt 6-Tommy Robredo (Spain) 7-6(6), 6-2; 1-David Ferrer (Spain) bt Takao Suzuki (Japan) 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Women’s:
Second round: 8-Aleksandra Wozniak (Canada) bt Ryoko Fuda (Japan) 6-1, 6-1; Samantha Stosur (Australia) beat 2-Anabel Medina Garrigues (Spain) 6-1, 7-5; Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (Russia) bt Rika Fujiwara (Japan) 6-2, 6-4; 1-Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark) bt Ayumi Morita (Japan) 6-2, 6-1; Klara Zakopalova (Czech Republic) bt Marta Domachowska (Poland) 6-3, 6-0.
Wednesday’s results:
Men’s:
Second round: 14-Jurgen Melzer (Austria) bt Simon Stadler (Germany) 6-2, 6-3; 12-Rainer Schuettler (Germany) bt Lee Hyung-Taik (Korea) 6-3, 6-7 (3/7), 6-3; 1-David Ferrer (Spain) bt Jesse Levine (US) 6-4, 4-6, 6-1; 9-Tomas Berdych (Czech Republic) bt Roko Karanusic (Croatia) 6-3, 6-4; 6-Tommy Robredo (Spain) bt Joseph Sirianni (Australia) 6-2, 6-2; 8-Mikhail Youzhny (Russia) bt Flavio Cipolla (Italy) 6-2, 6-2; Takao Suzuki (Japan) bt 15-Simone Bolelli (Italy) 7-6 (7-5), 4-6, 7-6 (7-5); Kei Nishikori (Japan) bt 16-Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (Spain) 6-4, 6-4; 7-Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (France) bt Bobby Reynolds (US) 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4; Jarkko Nieminen (Finland) bt Cecil Mamiit (Philippines) 7-6 (9-7), 6-4; 4-Richard Gasquet (France) bt Martin Slanar (Austria) 6-4, 6-2; Amer Delic (US) bt 13-Sam Querrey (US) 7-6 (7-5), 6-3; Viktor Troicki (Serbia) bt Wayne Odesnik (US) 6-2, 6-1; 2-Andy Roddick (US) bt Ivo Minar (Czech Republic) 7-6 (13-11), 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (7-2); 3-Fernando Gonzalez (Chile) bt Lu Yen-hsun (Taipei) 1-6, 7-5, 6-3; 5-Juan Martin Del Potro (Argentina) bt Dudi Sela (Israel) 7-5, 6-0.
Women’s:
First round: 2-Anabel Medina Garrigues (Spain) bt Chan Yung-jan (Taipei) 3-6, 6-3, 6-3; Samantha Stosur (Australia) bt Vania King (US) 6-2, retired.
Second round: 7-Tamarine Tanasugarn (Thailand) bt Camille Pin (France) 6-2, 6-2; 5-Kaia Kanepi (Estonia) bt Yanina
Wickmayer (Belgium) 3-6, 6-1, 6-0; Jarmila Gajdosova (Slovakia) bt 6-Shahar Peer (Israel) 5-7, 6-1, 7-6 (11-9).
STEPANEK, MATHIEU ADVANCE
METZ (France): Fourth-seeded Paul-Henri Mathieu broke Romain Jouan’s serve three times in a 6-3, 6-3 win to reach the Metz Open quarter-finals on Thursday.
Mathieu, the highest remaining seed in the tournament, did not face a single break point against him, while Jouan struggled to contain Mathieu’s big returns.
Mathieu next faces Serbia’s Janko Tipsarevic in the quarter-finals.
Also, seventh-seeded Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic rallied from 3-0 down in the final set to beat Michael Llodra of France 6-7 (5), 6-1, 7-6 (0).
Stepanek dominated the deciding tiebreaker to reach his first quarter-final since the clay-court Rome Masters in May, and next plays Eduardo Schwank of Argentina, who outlasted Victor Hanescu of Romania, 7-6 (6), 6-7 (5), 6-3.
Thursday’s results:
Second round: 4-Paul-Henri Mathieu (France) bt Romain Jouan (France) 6-3, 6-3; Marc Gicquel (France) bt Nicolas Mahut (France) 6-3, 7-6(4); 7-Radek Stepanek (Czech Republic) bt Michael Llodra (France) 6-7(5), 6-1, 7-6(0); Adrian Mannarino (France) bt Rik De Voest (South Africa) 6-4, 7-5; Eduardo Schwank (Argentina) bt Victor Hanescu (Romania) 7-6(6), 6-7(5), 6-3.
Wednesday’s results:
Second round: Carlos Moya (Spain) bt 1-Ivo Karlovic (Croatia) 6-3, 7-6(4); Janko Tipsarevic (Serbia) bt Ernests Gulbis (Latvia) 6-4, 6-4; 5-Dmitry Tursunov (Russia) bt Jose Acasuso (Argentina) 6-2, 6-2.
First round: Michael Llodra (France) bt Feliciano Lopez (Spain) 7-6(11), 6-7(6), 6-3; Rik De Voest (South Africa) bt Arnaud Clement (France) 4-6, 6-2, 7-5; Adrian Mannarino (France) bt 6-Andreas Seppi (Italy) 6-4, 6-2; 7-Radek Stepanek (Czech Republic) bt Julien Benneteau (France) 6-3, 6-3.
SAFINA FACES VENUS
STUTTGART (Germany): World number three Dinara Safina of Russia beat Bulgaria’s Tsvetana Pironkova 6-1, 7-6 in the second round of the Stuttgart Grand Prix on Thursday to set up a quarter-final against Venus Williams.
Serb Jelena Jankovic also made it through to the quarters by beating Alona Bondarenko of Ukraine 6-2, 6-0. She will play Russia’s Vera Zvonareva for a place in the semis.
Jankovic will replace top Stuttgart seed Serena Williams as world number one in the updated rankings after the US Open champion was upset on Wednesday by China’s Li Na.
Safina raced through the first set against Pironkova but faced much stiffer resistance from the 21-year-old qualifier in the second.
Venus brushed aside Alona Bondarenko’s sister, Kateryna, in her second-round match with the Wimbledon champion and sixth seed serving 12 aces to help her to a 6-4, 6-2 win.
Earlier, Safina’s compatriot Nadia Petrova beat Patty Schnyder of Switzerland 6-4, 6-1 and will play Li Na for a place in the semi-finals. Zvonareva had a comfortable victory over Marion Bartoli of France, winning 6-2, 6-0.
Thursday’s results:
Second round: 2-Jelena Jankovic (Serbia) bt Alona Bondarenko (Ukraine) 6-2, 6-0; 6-Venus Williams (US) bt Kateryna Bondarenko (Ukraine) 6-4, 6-2; 3-Dinara Safina (Russia) bt Tsvetana Pironkova (Bulgaria) 6-1, 7-6(6); Nadia Petrova (Russia) bt Patty Schnyder (Switzerland) 6-4, 6-1; 7-Vera Zvonareva (Russia) bt Marion Bartoli (France) 6-2, 6-0.
Wednesday’s results:
Second round: 4-Elena Dementieva (Russia) bt Sybille Bammer (Austria) 6-1, 6-4; Li Na (China) bt 1-Serena Williams (US) 0-6, 6-1, 6-4; Victoria Azarenka (Belarus) bt 8-Agnieszka Radwanska (Poland) 6-1, 7-5.
First round: Patty Schnyder (Switzerland) bt 5-Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia) 6-4, 4-6, 7-5; 7-Vera Zvonareva (Russia) bt Daniela Hantuchova (Slovakia) 6-3, 6-2.—Agencies
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