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SCOTTSDALE (Arizona), March 7: Mark Philippoussis won seven straight games en route to a 6-0, 6-4 victory over Scott Draper on Thursday to join top seeded fellow Australian Lleyton Hewitt in the quarterfinals of the 400,000-dollar Templeton Classic.
With his 61-minute performance at the desert hard-court tournament, wild card Philippoussis has now bettered his best showing of the season, when he reached the third round at the Australian Open.
Draper, also of Australia, had made it past the opening round here for the first time in his four Scottsdale appearances only to run into the huge-serving Philippoussis, who notched 11 aces.
David Nalbandian, who fell to Hewitt in the Wimbledon final last year, also got the better of a compatriot, beating fellow Argentinian Franco Squillari 6-2, 7-6 (7/5).
Hewitt, the top seed, got settled down midway through the first set and put his “A” game to work in the second to defeat South Africa’s Australian Open semifinalist Wayne Ferreira 7-5, 6-1.
Spanish sixth seed Alex Corretja, who is only starting his season after playing just a handful of matches since the start of the year after pausing several months for reflection, ousted Frenchman Arnaud Di Pasquale 7-6 (7/5), 3-6, 6-1.
Hewitt, whose last tournament was the Australian Open, said he was pleased with his win over Ferreira, played in bright afternoon sunshine as opposed to the chilly evening setting for his first-round win over Spain’s Fernando Vicente.
Corretja a quarterfinalist here in 2000 when Hewitt won, won back-to-back matches for the first time in nearly six months.
Results: (prefix number denotes seeding):
Second round: 1-Lleyton Hewitt (Australia) beat Wayne Ferreira (South Africa) 7-5 6-1; 3-David Nalbandian (Argentina) beat Franco Squillari (Argentina) 6-2 7-6 (7-5); 6-Alex Corretja (Spain) beat Arnaud Di Pasquale (France) 7-6 (7-5) 3-6 6-1; Mark Philippousis (Australia) beat Scott Draper (Australia) 6-0 6-4
EASY FOR CAPRIATI
INDIAN WELLS (California): Second seed Jennifer Capriati and number five Amelie Mauresmo powered their way to the third round of the $2.1 million Pacific Life Open on Thursday with straight set wins.
Playing in only her third tournament of the year, Capriati had to struggle briefly before downing Italy’s Antonella Serra Zanetti 6-4 6-2.
The 26-year-old Capriati was erratic in the first set, but in the second, began to find the lines with her thunderous groundstrokes.
In just her third tournament back since right knee surgery last autumn, Mauresmo eased past 17-year-old Swiss prospect Myriam Casanova 6-4 6-0.
Fourth seed Lindsay Davenport overcame an early break in the third set before overcoming Czech Daja Bedanova 6-3 5-7 6-1, while 12th seed Eleni Daniilidou beat France’s Stephanie Foretz 7-5 6-4.
Meanwhile, 13th seed Elena Bovina of Russia came back to defeat Cho Yoon-jeong 6-4 5-7 6-1 and number 14 seed Elena Dementieva rallied past Iveta Benesova 2-6 6-4 6-1.
There were two upsets, however, when 17-year-old Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia stunned compatriot and seventh seed Anastasia Myskina 6-4 6-7 6-3 and Indonesia’s Angelique Widjaja pounced on ninth seed Patty Schnyder 6-4 6-2
Results:
Second round: 2-Jennifer Capriati (U.S.) beat Antonella Serra Zanetti (Italy) 6-4 6-2; 4-Lindsay Davenport (U.S.) beat Daja Bedanova (Czech Republic 6-3 5-7 6-1; Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia) beat 7-Anastasia Myskina (Russia) 6-4 6-7 (7-9) 6-3; 13-Elena Bovina (Russia) beat Cho Yoon-jeong (South Korea) 6-4 5-7 6-1; 23-Meghann Shaughnessy (U.S.) beat Flavia Pennetta (Italy) 6-3 6-7 (6-8) 6-3; Samantha Reeves (U.S.) beat 20-Paola Suarez (Argentina) 4-6 6-3 6-4; Magui Serna (Spain) beat 24-Clarissa Fernandez (Argentina) 3-6 6-4 6-1; Vera Zvonareva (Russia) beat 28-Iva Majoli (Croatia) 6-1 3-6 6-2; 25-Elena Likhovtseva (Russia) beat Meilen Tu (U.S.) 6-2 6-2; Denisa Chladkova (Czech Republic) beat 30-Laura Granville 6-3 6-0; 12-Eleni Daniilidou (Greece) beat Stephanie Foretz (France) 7-5 6-4; Virginia Ruano Pascual (Spain) beat 22-Alexandra Stevenson (U.S.) 6-4 6-4; Angelique Widjaja (Indonesia) beat 9-Patty Schnyder (Switzerland) 6-4 6-2; 29-Tamarine Tanasugarn (Thailand) beat Shinobu Asagoe (Japan) 6-2 6-0; 5-Amelie Mauresmo (France) beat Myriam Casanova (Switzerland) 6-4 6-0; 14-Elena Dementieva (Russia) beat Iveta Benesova (Czech Republic) 2-6 6-4 6-1
KENDRICK DOWN LISNARD
DELRAY BEACH (Florida): Qualifier Robert Kendrick beat Jean-Rene Lisnard 7-5 7-5 at the International Tennis Championships on Thursday to reach his first ATP quarterfinal.
Competing in just his second ATP Tour event, the 23-year-old American rallied back from a break point down to the Frenchman in both sets before sealing the victory.
Kendrick will now meet Belarussian Vladimir Voltchkov, who advanced when Armenian Sargis Sargsian was forced to retire from their match with muscle cramps while trailing 5-7 6-4 1-0.
Sargsian began to show signs of distress in the middle of the second set before finally succumbing to severe cramping after Voltchkov held his serve to open the third set.
In other second round action, fourth seed Jan-Michael Gambill battled past fellow American Justin Gimelstob, 7-5 7-5 and will now take on Brazil’s Flavio Saretta, who upset eighth-seeded American Vincent Spadea 6-4 3-6 6-4.
Results:
Second round: 4-Jan-Michael Gambill (U.S.) beat Justin Gimelstob (U.S.) 7-5 7-5; Flavio Saretta (Brazil) beat 8-Vincent Spadea (U.S.) 6-4 3-6 6-4; Robert Kendrick (U.S.) beat Jean-Rene Lisnard (France) 7-5 7-5; Vladimir Voltchkov (Belarus) beat Sargis Sargsian (Armenia) 5-7 6-4 1-0, ret.—AFP/Reuters
