Nadal, upstart Tsonga reach Oz Open semis

Melbourne, Australia (Sports Network) - Second-seeded Spaniard Rafael Nadal and unseeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga were a pair of quarterfinal winners Tuesday at the 2008 Australian Open.

Nadal prevailed in a tough first set on Day 9 on his way to a 7-5, 6-3, 6-1 decision against 24th-seeded Finn Jarkko Nieminen. The match lasted 2 hours, 19 minutes, as Nadal landed in his first-ever Aussie Open semifinal by breaking Nieminen's serve six times, compared to only one break in eight break-point chances for the overmatched Finn.

"It's a good moment for me -- being my first semifinals on hardcourt at a Grand Slam," Nadal said.

The three-time French Open champion and two-time Wimbledon runner-up Nadal is now 4-0 lifetime against Nieminen.

Nadal's final four opponent here will be Tsonga, who erased 14th-seeded Russian Mikhail Youzhny 7-5, 6-0, 7-6 (8-6) to secure a berth in his first- ever Grand Slam semi. Tsonga is the first unseeded French semifinalist here since Nicolas Escude turned the trick 10 years ago.

The talented 22-year-old Tsonga advanced in 2 hours, 17 minutes, as he swatted eight aces and did not allow Youzhny to enjoy even one break-point opportunity at Melbourne Park. The 38th-ranked Frenchman broke his Russian counterpart four times and looks like he could really challenge Nadal in the round of four.

The hot Tsonga stunned his eighth-seeded countryman Richard Gasquet here in the fourth round and took out ninth-seeded Brit Andy Murray in the opening round last week.

On Wednesday, top-seeded Swiss superstar Roger Federer will meet 12th-seeded American James Blake and third-seeded Serbian Novak Djokovic will take on fifth-seeded Spaniard David Ferrer to wrap up the quarterfinals. Federer is the reigning two-time and three-time overall Aussie Open champ.

The 12-time major titlist Federer is a flawless 7-0 lifetime versus Blake, including a couple of Grand Slam match wins at the U.S. Open. Ferrer is 3-2 all-time against Djokovic, with the players splitting four meetings in 2007.

Nadal eases into Aussie quarters; Davydenko out

Melbourne, Australia (Sports Network) - Rafael Nadal easily moved into the Australian Open quarterfinals on Sunday when Paul-Henri Mathieu retired in the second set of their fourth-round match, but Nikolay Davydenko was among the upset victims as the first week of the year's first major concluded.

The second-seeded Nadal had built a 6-4, 3-0 lead when Mathieu called it quits for what appeared to be a calf problem. The 23rd-seeded Frenchman twice received treatment in the first set, then decided he couldn't continue after dropping serve twice in the second.

Nadal will next meet Finland's Jarkko Nieminen in the quarterfinals. Nieminen knocked off Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber, 3-6, 7-6 (9-7), 7-6 (11-9), 6-3. Kohlschreiber had eliminated sixth-seeded American Andy Roddick in his last match and was coming off a title in Auckland last week.

Nieminen, seeded 24th, saved a combined 11 set points between the second and third sets before advancing.

"Set points down, I saw myself winning," said Nieminen. "I was thinking really positive."

Davydenko, the fourth seed, was sent home by fellow Russian Mikhail Youzhny. The 14th-seeded Youzhny won a tough first set and cruised the rest of the way in a 7-6 (7-2), 6-3, 6-1 victory.

Youzhny has just one appearance past the quarterfinals at a Grand Slam event, reaching the semis at the 2006 U.S. Open.

Up next for Youzhny will be Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who upended eighth- seeded countryman Richard Gasquet, 6-2, 6-7 (5-7), 7-6 (8-6), 6-3. Gasquet is the second top-10 ranked player Tsonga has beaten at this event, as he began the tournament with an upset victory over world No. 9 Andy Murray.

"It's good for me, because it's lot of confidence to beat a player like that," Tsonga said of beating Gasquet. "He's very good. And for me, it was a test, you know. When you beat somebody like this, you know you can beat a lot of guys."

Due to the rain on Saturday, a couple of third-round matches were pushed back to Sunday.

Fifth-seeded David Ferrer continued his strong run with a 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 win over American Vince Spadea. Ferrer's fourth-round opponent will be fellow Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero, as the 22nd seed upended 10th-seeded Argentine David Nalbandian, 6-1, 6-2, 6-3.

"It's going to be a special match. We know each other," said Ferrero. "We live in the same place. So we practice a lot of times together. We are so good friends."

Ferrer and Ferrero will play on Monday, as the fourth round concludes with four matches. The other three will include a trio of players who needed five sets to win in the third round.

Among those is top-seeded Roger Federer, who will take on 13th-seeded Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic. The Swiss superstar escaped with a 10-8 fifth set victory over Serbia's Janko Tipsarevic on Saturday.

American James Blake also went the distance on Saturday, rallying from two sets down and a 1-4 deficit in the third set to beat France's Sebastien Grosjean. The 12th-seeded Blake will take on Croatia's Marin Cilic on Monday.

Crowd favorite Lleyton Hewitt will open the Monday night session after finishing his third-round marathon against Marcos Baghdatis just past 4:30 a.m. local time on Sunday morning. Hewitt, the 19th seed, needed four hours and 45 minutes to dispose of the 2006 Australian Open finalist, and will take on third-seeded Serbian Novak Djokovic on Monday.

Youzhny shocks Nadal in Chennai final

Chennai, India (Sports Network) - Russian Mikhail Youzhny stunned top-seeded Rafael Nadal in straight sets to win the Chennai Open final on Sunday.
The fourth-seeded Youzhny blitzed Nadal from the outset and was never threatened in an easy 6-0, 6-1 victory.
It was the fourth career singles title for Youzhny, who is ranked 19th in the world. He won once last year at Rotterdam and was also a finalist twice in 2007.
Nadal, who had a banner 2007 campaign with six titles, was attempting to garner his 24th career crown. But, the Spaniard looked lost from the start and was clearly suffering the effects of his grueling four-hour semifinal win over fellow Spaniard Carlos Moya on Saturday.
The 25-year-old Youzhny upended Nadal for the fourth time in 10-career matchups and snapped a three-match skid against Nadal.

Federer, Ferrer advance to Masters Cup final

Shanghai, China (Sports Network) - Roger Federer and David Ferrer were semifinal winners Saturday at the Tennis Masters Cup and will play for the title of the lucrative season-ending event on Sunday.
The top-seeded Federer had a surprisingly easy match against nemesis Rafael Nadal, posting a 6-4, 6-1 triumph, while the sixth-seeded Ferrer cruised past American Andy Roddick, 6-1, 6-3.
Federer's 59-minute victory against Nadal was his most one-sided in the rivalry, which the Swiss star has recently dominated. The world No. 1 has captured five of the last seven matches with the Spanish sensation, losing only in the finale at the Monte Carlo Masters and French Open this spring.
"For me to beat him on hard court indoors is a great result," said Federer, who is now 6-8 lifetime against Nadal. "And the way I played today, I wish I could play every time like this against him. But it's not that easy."
Nadal had a few chances in the first set. He led 0-30 in the fifth game, but four straight aces gave Federer the game. Nadal had a break point in Federer's next service game, but was unable to convert.
The only time Federer had a chance to break in the first set came in the 10th game when he raced out to a 0-40 lead. Nadal staved off the first, but a Federer forehand winner wrapped up the set.
Federer then capitalized on the momentum and won the first 13 points of the second set on the way to a 3-0 lead. Nadal never recovered.
"I was really pleased with my performance for the last one and a half sets," said Federer, who was successful on 81 percent of his first serves during the match. "I was really pleased with my serving performance today. It was key to beating Rafa tonight."
Next up for Federer will be Ferrer, who is trying to become the first player to win the Masters Cup in his debut since fellow Spaniard Alex Corretja in 1998.
Ferrer, the only player to finish round-robin play undefeated, continued that trend with his rout of Roddick.
Roddick had back trouble early and called for the trainer down 4-1 in the first set. He was never able to kick it into gear and drilled just four aces.
Ferrer, seeded sixth this week, will try for his fourth title of 2007 and the sixth of his career. However, he has never beaten Federer in seven previous tries.
Federer won a pair of meetings this year, both on clay, at the quarterfinals in Monte Carlo and Hamburg.
"David has been the best player of the tournament," Federer remarked about his opponent in the final. "He's been beating unbelievable players along the way."
Federer will be trying for his 53rd career title and eighth this year.
The 12-time Grand Slam champion will finish the year at No. 1 for a fourth straight year. He is the reigning U.S. Open, Wimbledon, Aussie Open and Masters Cup titlist. He defeated American James Blake in last year's finale in Shanghai and is seeking his fourth Masters Cup title in five years.
An undefeated champion, which at this point could only be Ferrer, would collect over $1.5 million.

Federer, Roddick post Day-4 wins in Shanghai

Shanghai, China (Sports Network) - World No. 1 Swiss Roger Federer and former top-ranked American star Andy Roddick were Wednesday's Red Group round- robin winners at the exclusive $3.7 million Tennis Masters Cup. Roddick has already clinched a berth in Saturday's semifinals here.
The top-seeded Federer rebounded from a Monday loss against Fernando Gonzalez by whipping fourth-seeded Russian Nikolay Davydenko 6-4, 6-3, while a fifth- seeded Roddick improved to 2-0 this week by handling a seventh-seeded Gonzalez 6-1, 6-4 on the hardcourt at Qi Zhong Stadium. Roddick moved to 7-3 lifetime versus the Australian Open runner-up Gonzalez.
Federer got past Davydenko in 1 hour, 26 minutes with the help of four service breaks, compared to two for the Russian, while Roddick doused "Gonzo" in 1 hour, 5 minutes by winning 21 more points (59-38) than his Chilean counterpart. The massive-serving American, who fired only four aces in the big win, also broke Gonzalez three times, while the Chilean failed to record one break in the setback.
The amazing Federer is now 16-1 all-time in his Masters Cup round-robin matches and 11-0 lifetime versus Davydenko, who succumbed to the super Swiss in this year's U.S. and French Open semifinals.
Roddick currently leads the Red Group here with his 2-0 record, while Federer and Gonzalez are 1-1 and Davydenko is 0-2 and out of contention for Saturday's semis.
Federer and Roddick will clash here on Friday, while Gonzalez will take on Davydenko on Day 6.
Sixth-seeded Spaniard David Ferrer leads this week's Gold Group with a perfect 2-0 record, while second-seeded Spaniard Rafael Nadal and eighth-seeded Frenchman Richard Gasquet are both 1-1 and third-seeded Serbian Novak Djokovic has already been eliminated from semifinal contention at 0-2. Nadal is the reigning French Open champ and Wimbledon runner-up, while Djokovic was the U.S. Open runner-up to Federer in September.
The 12-time major champion Federer will finish the year at No. 1 for a fourth straight year. The sublime Swiss is the reigning U.S. Open, Wimbledon, Aussie Open and Masters Cup titlist and French Open runner-up. He defeated American James Blake in last year's finale here in Shanghai and is seeking his fourth Masters Cup title in five years.
On Thursday, Nadal will face Djokovic and Ferrer will battle Gasquet to determine the semifinalists from the Gold Group.
The Masters Cup features round-robin action for the first six days, with the top-two players from each group advancing to the semis. The lucrative final will be staged here on Sunday.
An undefeated champion, which at this point could only be Roddick or Ferrer, in Shanghai would collect over $1.5 million.

Round-robin groups revealed for Tennis Masters Cup

Shanghai, China (Sports Network) - The two four-man groups for next week's season-ending Tennis Masters Cup were announced on Wednesday, as Swiss great Roger Federer will head up the Red Group, while powerful Spaniard Rafael Nadal spearheads the Gold Group. Federer is the defending champion.
The top-seeded/world No. 1 Federer is joined in a very tough Red Group by No. 4 Russian Nikolay Davydenko, No. 5 American Andy Roddick and No. 7 Chilean Fernando Gonzalez, while the second-seeded Nadal is joined in the Gold quartet by No. 3 Serbian Novak Djokovic, No. 6 Spaniard David Ferrer and No. 8 Frenchman Richard Gasquet. Spain will be the only country with more than one participant this year (Nadal and Ferrer).
Round-robin play will commence Sunday on the indoor hardcourt at Shanghai's state-of-the-art Qi Zhong Stadium, with two matches on the docket. The French Open champion Nadal will open up against Gasquet, while the nightcap will pit Djokovic versus Ferrer.
The 2007 Masters Cup will feature round-robin action for the first six days, with the top-two players from each group advancing to the semifinals on Saturday, November 17. The lucrative finale will be staged on Sunday, November 18. An undefeated champion in Shanghai would collect over $1.5 million.
The reigning Wimbledon, U.S. Open and Australian Open titlist Federer defeated American James Blake in last year's Masters Cup finale, giving him his third title in four years at this event. Federer is the only former champion in this year's exclusive eight-man field and 22-2 for his career at this tournament.
Federer beat Gonzalez in this year's Aussie Open final, topped Nadal in the Wimbledon title bout, bested Djokovic in the U.S. Open finale and lost to Nadal in the French Open championship match.

Nadal advances to Paris semifinals

Paris, France (Sports Network) - Rafael Nadal was among the quarterfinal winners on Friday in the Paris Masters.
The second-seeded Nadal continued his quest for the title at the $2.45 million tournament with an easy 6-4, 6-2 victory over Russian Mikhail Youzhny.
Nadal has yet to lose a set during his two matches in his first appearance at this hard court event and is seeking to win his seventh title this season.
"It was an important match for me to be in the semifinals after the US Open," said Nadal. "Especially after Montreal. I'm so happy to come back and play one tournament like this. The last two matches have been very good, very good matches for me."
The Spaniard is the highest remaining seed after world No. 1 Roger Federer was defeated by Argentine David Nalbandian in the third round on Thursday.
Nalbandian followed up his surprising victory over the top-seeded Federer, with a 7-6 (7-3), 6-7 (3-7), 6-2 win over fifth-seeded Spaniard David Ferrer on Friday. He is out of the Masters Cup race, but is on track to win his second straight Masters title.
Nalbandian will next face Frenchmen Richard Gasquet, who defeated Andy Murray of Great Britain, 6-3, 0-6, 6-4.
The win kept Gasquet's Masters Cup hopes alive, but ended Murray's chance of playing in Shanghai.
Ferrer wasn't the only Spaniard toppled Friday as eighth-seeded Tommy Robredo was defeated, 6-4, 6-4, by Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis, who kept his slim chances of qualifying for the Masters Cup alive with the win.
Baghdatis, who will face Nadal on Saturday, is in the semifinals for his second consecutive event.

Grosjean moves on; Ljubicic loses in Lyon quarters

Lyon, France (Sports Network) - Veteran French crowd favorite Sebastien Grosjean was among the quarterfinal winners, while former champion Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia came up a loser Friday at the Lyon Tennis Grand Prix.
In an all-French quarter, Grosjean outlasted Julien Benneteau 6-7 (6-8), 6-2, 7-6 (7-4) in 2 hours, 34 minutes.
Meanwhile, the 2001 Lyon winner Ljubicic, seeded fifth this week, gave way to Colombian qualifier Alejandro Falla 7-5, 6-7 (3-7), 7-5 on Day 5.
In other quarterfinal action, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga trounced Belgian Olivier Rochus 6-3, 6-2 and last year's Lyon runner-up Marc Gicquel grounded Argentine Diego Hartfield 7-5, 6-3 on the indoor carpet at Palais des Sports Lyon Gerland. Gicquel lost to Richard Gasquet in last year's popular all-French finale here. Gasquet succumbed to Tsonga here on Thursday. Saturday's semis will pit Grosjean versus his compatriot Tsonga and Gicquel against Falla

Federer reaches semis; Gonzalez falls in Basel

Basel, Switzerland (Sports Network) - Hometown hero Roger Federer was among Friday's quarterfinal winners, while last year's runner-up and former champion Fernando Gonzalez went by way of the upset at the $1.2 million Swiss Indoors tennis event.
The top-seeded/world No. 1 Federer handled German Nicolas Kiefer 6-3, 6-2 at St. Jakobshalle. The Swiss Federer captured his 544th career singles victory, making him the active wins leader on the ATP. Former world No. 1 Carlos Moya is second to Federer, with 543 wins.
Federer topped the Chilean Gonzalez in last year's Basel finale and was the back-to-back runner-up in his hometown in 2000 and 2001.
The reigning U.S. Open, Wimbledon and Australian Open champion Federer was last week's Madrid Masters runner-up to Argentine star David Nalbandian.
Federer is now two match wins away from clinching the year-end No. 1 ranking for a fourth straight year. His semifinal opponent on Saturday will be 6- foot-10 Croat Ivo Karlovic, who upended fifth-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych 6-7 (5-7), 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (15-13).
Karlovic needed 38 aces in 2 hours, 37 minutes to upset Berdych, as neither player recorded a service break in a match where there were only three break- point chances throughout.
A second-seeded Gonzalez succumbed to capable Finn Jarkko Nieminen 6-3, 7-5 on Day 4 here. "Gonzo" titled here in 2005 and was also the runner-up in 2002.
Nieminen's semifinal opponent on Saturday will be 2005 Basel runner-up Marcos Baghdatis, as the Cypriot knocked out eighth-seeded Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-2, 7-6 (7-5).

Ferrer to battle Gasquet for Tokyo title

Tokyo, Japan (Sports Network) - Top-seeded Spaniard David Ferrer and third- seeded Frenchman Richard Gasquet will battle for the title at the $832,000 Japan Open after both won semifinal matches Saturday.
The world No. 8 Ferrer, a U.S. Open semifinalist last month, topped 6-foot-10 Croat Ivo Karlovic, the seventh seed, 7-6 (7-3), 6-3. Gasquet won in similar fashion over second-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych, 7-6 (7-3), 6-3.
Ferrer goes after his third title this year, already winning titles in Auckland and Bastad. He'll try for his fifth career championship.
Gasquet, fresh off his title in Mumbai, has won five tournaments in his career.
Ferrer won the only other meeting with Gasquet, beating the Frenchman in straight sets in a tournament in Stuttgart in 2004.
The 2007 titlist will collect $145,000.

Robredo, Canas, Murray charge into Metz semis

Metz, France (Sports Network) - Top-seeded Spaniard Tommy Robredo, second-seeded Argentine Guillermo Canas and third-seeded Brit Andy Murray led the charge into the semifinals at the $500,000 Open de Moselle indoor tennis event.
Robredo rolled past veteran French crowd favorite Sebastien Grosjean 6-4, 6-4 in 1 hour, 24 minutes. The Spaniard will meet another Frenchman, Nicolas Mahut, in Saturday's semis.
Canas handled 19-year-old Russian qualifier Evgeny Korolev 6-1, 6-4, while Murray mauled Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-3, 6-3 on the hardcourt at Les Arenes. Canas dropped just three points on his first serve against the promising Korolev.
The gritty Canas and talented Murray will face-off in the other semifinal here.
One other quarterfinal bout saw the aforementioned Mahut oust eighth-seeded Russian Igor Andreev in come-from-behind fashion, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7-1).

Ferrer, Berdych, Gasquet reach semis; Hewitt loses in Tokyo

Tokyo, Japan (Sports Network) - Top-seeded Spaniard David Ferrer, second- seeded Czech Tomas Berdych and third-seeded Frenchman Richard Gasquet posted quarterfinal wins, while former champion Lleyton Hewitt came up a loser Friday at the $832,000 Japan Open.
The world No. 8 Ferrer, a U.S. Open semifinalist last month, grounded his 10th-seeded countryman Feliciano Lopez 6-4, 6-4, while the former world No. 1 and 2001 Tokyo titlist Hewitt, seeded fourth this week, gave way to seventh- seeded Croat Ivo Karlovic 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (8-6) at Ariake Colosseum.
Ferrer will meet the 6-foot-10 Karlovic in Saturday's semifinals here. During his victory over Hewitt, the massive-serving Karlovic became only the fourth player since 1991 to swat 1,000 aces in a season, as he drilled 25 bombs against the return-of-serve artist Hewitt.
The other semi will pit Berdych against the red-hot Gasquet, as Berdych outlasted eighth-seeded Spaniard Fernando Verdasco 7-6 (9-7), 4-6, 7-5, while Gasquet rattled off his eighth straight match victory by dousing Israeli Dudi Sela 6-4, 6-1. Gasquet is fresh off his title in India last week.
The 2007 titlist here will collect $145,000.

Davis Cup final will be played in Portland

White Plains, NY (Sports Network) - The 2007 Davis Cup World Group final between the host United States and defending champion Russia will be staged at Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Oregon.
The best-of-five tie will be played from November 30-December 2, on a surface yet to be determined, and will mark the first Davis Cup final on American soil in 15 years. The Americans topped the Swiss in the 1992 finale in Fort Worth, Texas.
The U.S., captained by Patrick McEnroe, featured Andy Roddick, James Blake and the twin Bryan brothers, Bob and Mike, in its 4-1 semifinal victory against host Sweden last week, while the Russian team, skippered by Shamil Tarpischev, boasted Nikolay Davydenko, Igor Andreev, Dmitry Tursunov and Mikhail Youzhny in its home win against Germany.
The Americans hold a record 31 Davis Cup titles, but haven't won the championship since 1995, when Pete Sampras led them to a 3-2 victory over Russia in a final in Moscow.
The Russians beat Argentina in last year's finale, in Moscow, and captured the first of their two titles in 2002.
The U.S. is 2-1 all-time versus Russia, which beat the Americans 3-2 in last year's semifinals, in Moscow. Team USA bested the Russians 3-2 in an opening- round affair on home turf in Atlanta back in 1998.
Portland's Memorial Coliseum has hosted Davis Cup matches, which it did in 1981 and 1984.

Berdych, Haas advance; Roddick pulls out in Bangkok

Bangkok, Thailand (Sports Network) - Seeds Tomas Berdych and Tommy Haas were among Wednesday's first-round winners, while former world No. 1 Andy Roddick pulled out of the $550,000 Thailand Open, citing a left foot injury.
The second-seeded Roddick was scheduled to meet Taipei's Yeu-Tzuoo Wang on Day 2 here, but the American, fresh off his Davis Cup action in Sweden, withdrew due to the foot problem suffered during practice here on Tuesday. Roddick helped the United States beat Sweden 4-1 in last week's Davis Cup semifinal in Gothenburg.
Roddick was the 2004 Bangkok runner-up to Roger Federer.
Top-seeded U.S. Open finalist Novak Djokovic pulled out of the draw here on Tuesday, citing a back injury, while world No. 2 Rafael Nadal withdrew from the event on Sunday due to a knee injury, leaving this watered-down tournament without three of the top-five players on the planet.
Meanwhile, the third-seeded Berdych, of the Czech Republic, blasted Thai wild card Kittipong Wachiramanowong 6-3, 6-0 and the fourth-seeded Haas, of Germany, overcame American Vincent Spadea 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 at Impact Arena.
Sixth-seeded Russian Dmitry Tursunov got past Austrian Werner Eschauer 6-3, 3-6, 6-1, while eighth-seeded Spaniard Fernando Verdasco vaulted past American lucky-loser David Martin 6-2, 6-1.
Other Day-2 wins came for Russian Igor Kunitsyn, German lucky-loser Simon Stadler, Aussie qualifier Nick Lindahl and the wild card Wang, who, instead of facing Roddick, took on American lucky-loser Phillip King and prevailed 6-3, 6-3.
The 2007 Bangkok titlist will collect $76,500.

Koubek, Rochus win at rain-plagued Mumbai event

Mumbai, India (Sports Network) - Sixth-seeded Austrian Stefan Koubek and eighth-seeded Belgian Olivier beat out the rain on Wednesday and posted first- round wins at the $416,000 Kingfisher Airlines Tennis Open.
Koubek clobbered Chilean Paul Capdeville 6-3, 6-2, while Rochus routed Dutchman Robin Haase 6-2, 6-2 on another wet day at the Cricket Club of India. Rain has disrupted play on all three days of main-draw activity here.
One other Day-3 result saw Italian Fabio Fognini drive out Indian wild card Somdev Dev Varman 6-3, 7-6 (10-8). Fognini is rewarded with a second-round match against top-seeded Frenchman Richard Gasquet.
Second-seeded Lleyton Hewitt was supposed to open his stay here against qualifier Ti Chen of Taipei on Wednesday, but the Aussie star will have to wait until Day 4.
Fourth-seeded Finn Jarkko Nieminen and fifth-seeded Frenchman Fabrice Santoro had their second-rounders postponed until Thursday.
The 2007 Mumbai titlist will collect $65,850.

Roddick gives U.S. 1-0 lead against host Swedes

Gothenburg, Sweden (Sports Network) - Andy Roddick handled Joachim Johansson in straight sets in Friday's opening singles rubber in the Davis Cup semifinal between the United States and host Sweden.
The former world No. 1 Roddick recorded a 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-3), 6-3 victory in 1 hour, 53 minutes in a hard-serving affair on an indoor carpet at Scandinavium.
Roddick launched 30 aces at the 6-foot-6 Johansson, who countered with 23 bombs in a losing effort. The rusty Johansson, who hasn't played on the ATP since the Australian Open back in January due to ongoing shoulder problems, piled up seven double faults on his way to surrendering the first point to the formidable Americans.
The former U.S. Open champ and three-time Grand Slam runner-up Roddick is now 24-9 in his career Davis Cup singles matches.
Friday's second singles rubber will James Blake against the hosts' Thomas Johansson, who is not related to Joachim. Blake is 11-7 in his career Davis Cup singles action.
Saturday's doubles will pit the American twin Bryan brothers, Bob and Mike, against a Swedish duo of Simon Aspelin and Jonas Bjorkman, while Sunday's reverse singles tentatively call for Roddick to meet Thomas Johansson and Blake to take on Joachim Johansson. Aspelin captured the U.S. Open men's doubles title, alongside Austrian Julian Knowle, earlier this month.
The winner of this best-of-five tie will face the Russia-Germany victor in the World Group final in late-November/early-December. Russia is the defending Davis Cup champ.
The United States owns a record 31 Davis Cup titles, but is currently in its longest-ever championship drought, having not hoisted the chalice since 1995. The Swedes have won the title seven times, with their last one coming back in 1998.
The Americans are 8-3 all-time against Sweden, dating back to 1946, including a quarterfinal victory in Florida in 2004. The Swedes are 3-1 versus the U.S. in their ties on home turf, including a 5-0 victory in a final right here in Gothenburg 10 years ago. Sweden also topped the Americans in the final back in 1984.
The U.S. is 2-1 versus the Swedes in the Davis Cup semifinals, but 0-1 in ones played here in Sweden.
Patrick McEnroe captains the American squad, while former tennis great Mats Wilander guides the Swedes.

Hanescu ousts Starace in Bucharest

Bucharest, Romania (Sports Network) - Hometown favorite Victor Hanescu toppled third-seeded Italian Potito Starace in Friday's quarterfinal action at the $400,000 Romanian Open.
The Bucharest native Hanescu, a wild card this week, sent Starace packing with a 7-6 (7-5), 7-5 decision on the red clay at BNR Arenas.
The only seeded player still standing this week, No. 6 Frenchman Gilles Simon, avoided an upset by drilling American qualifier Hugo Armando 6-4, 6-2 on Day 5.
In other quarterfinal action, qualifier Gael Monfils drubbed fellow Frenchman Marc Gicquel 6-4, 6-2 and Argentine Carlos Berlocq dismissed Russian qualifier Yuri Schukin 7-5, 6-3.
Saturday's semifinals will pit Simon against Berlocq and Hanescu versus Monfils.

Starace reaches Bucharest quarters

Bucharest, Romania (Sports Network) - Third-seeded Italian Potito Starace, the highest-remaining seed still standing this week, highlighted Thursday's second-round winners at the $400,000 Romanian Open.
Starace drove out veteran Romanian crowd favorite Andrei Pavel 6-3, 6-3 on the red clay at B.N.R. Arenas. The 33-year-old Pavel entered the draw as a wild card this week.
Another Romanian wild card did not disappoint the home crowd on Day 4, however, as Victor Hanescu knocked out eighth-seeded Spaniard Albert Montanes 6-3, 6-2 to reach Friday's quarterfinals, where he will meet Starace. Montanes was the Bucharest runner-up back in 2001.
In other second-round play, Russian qualifier Yuri Schukin got past Italian Simone Bolelli 6-4, 6-3 and Argentine Carlos Berlocq handled Spaniard Ivan Navarro Pastor 7-5, 6-3.
The other quarters will pit sixth-seeded Frenchman Gilles Simon against American Hugo Armando, Schukin versus Berlocq and Frenchman Marc Gicquel against his countryman Gael Monfils.

Davydenko bows out in Beijing

Beijing, China (Sports Network) - Top-seeded Russian star Nikolay Davydenko came up a second-round loser Thursday at the $500,000 China Open.
Promising 18-year-old Croat Marin Cilic upended the U.S. Open semifinalist Davydenko in 6-3, 6-4 fashion on the hardcourts at Beijing Tennis Center. Davydenko has now dropped two of his last three matches, including a final four setback at the hands of Roger Federer in New York last week.
A pair of seeds moved into Friday's quarterfinals here, as No. 3 Spaniard Tommy Robredo rolled past South African Rik De Voest 6-2, 6-3 and No. 8 Russian Igor Kunitsyn held off American Kevin Kim 7-6 (7-4), 6-4.
Another upset, albeit a mild one, occurred when German wild card Nicolas Kiefer cut down seventh-seeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-3, 6-4.
The quarters will pit second-seeded Australian Open runner-up Fernando Gonzalez, of Chile, against sixth-seeded Korean Hyung-Taik Lee, Robredo versus Kunitsyn, fourth-seeded Croat Ivan Ljubicic against fifth-seeded and defending Beijing champion Marcos Baghdatis and Cilic versus Kiefer. The 2006 Aussie Open runner-up Baghdatis, of Cyprus, bested Croat Mario Ancic in last year's finale here and is currently riding seven-match winning streak in Beijing.

Andreev bounced in Bucharest

Bucharest, Romania (Sports Network) - Fifth-seeded and two-time runner-up Igor Andreev was among Wednesday's second-round losers at the $400,000 Romanian Open.
Frenchman Marc Gicquel dismissed the Russian Andreev in 6-4, 6-3 fashion on the red clay at B.N.R. Arenas. Andreev reached back-to-back finals here in 2004 and 2005.
Sixth-seeded Frenchman Gilles Simon avoided an upset by pasting Russian Evgeny Korolev 6-4, 6-2 on Day 3 here.
In other second-round action, American qualifier Hugo Armando erased Italian Andreas Seppi 6-0, 6-3 and French qualifier Gael Monfils topped Argentine Martin Vassallo Arguello 6-4, 6-4. Armando will battle Simon in the quarterfinals, while Monfils will encounter his countryman Gicquel.
A pair of Romanian crowd favorites will take to the clay here on Thursday, as Victor Hanescu will face eighth-seeded Spaniard Albert Montanes and Andrei Pavel will take on third-seeded Italian Potito Starace.