MONACO, April 22: Argentinian third seed Guillermo Coria and former world number one Marat Safin of Russia stayed on course for a semifinal showdown after both men moved into the last eight of the Monte Carlo Masters on Thursday.
They were joined in the quarterfinals by British sixth seed Tim Henman who came back from a set down to defeat Chilean ninth seed Nicolas Massu 3-6, 6-4, 6-3. Henman was a semifinalist here in 2002 beating Massu on the way.
On Thursday, there were six breaks of serve in the opening set which Massu, who possesses one of the fiercest forehands in the sport, took in 34 minutes. But the quicker clay courts here suit Henman, and his serve and volley game, and he broke the Chilean twice in the second set to level the match after 1hr 28mins on court.
Henman then wrapped up proceedings in style grabbing the vital break in the first game of the final set and then repeating it in the ninth game when the Chilean was serving to save the match. Massu served up a double fault to send Henman to match point which was secured with a winning backhand.
Henman now meets either Australian 16th seed Lleyton Hewitt, whom he has never beaten in seven attempts, or Germany's fourth seed Rainer Schuettler for a place in the semi-finals. Coria clinched a 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 win over Romania's Andrei Pavel while Safin, battling his way back up the rankings after a 2003 decimated by a wrist injury, cruised past Australian veteran Wayne Arthurs 6-4, 6-2.
Coria now faces fellow Argentinian David Nalbandian, the seventh seed, while Safin, the Australian Open runner-up, faces Spain's Alberto Martin. Nalbandian defeated the only French player left in the draw, Fabrice Santoro, 6-3, 6-2 while Martin won a gruelling three-set tussle with Agustin Calleri.
Safin took just 67 minutes to wrap up victory allowing the 33-year-old Arthurs, who came into the main draw as a replacement for top seed Andy Roddick, just two break points in the entire match.
The Russian broke in the third game of the first set which he clinched in 35 minutes and then broke again in the first and fifth games of the second before wrapping up the match with a majestic forehand lob. Safin, runner-up in Estoril last weekend, has now matched his best performance here after making the last eight in 2002.
"Arthurs is a difficult player for everyone to face on hard courts and on grass but on clay, it's a different story, it's too slow," said the Russian. Coria, runner-up in 2003, is the highest seed left in the tournament following the withdrawal of top seed Roddick and the defeat of defending champion Juan Carlos Ferrero.
"I am a much more confident player this year," said the 22-year-old. Nikolay Davydenko of Russia reached his first career Masters quarter-final with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Croatia's Ivan Ljubicic in a battle of Monte Carlo residents. He will now play fifth seed and 1998 champion Carlos Moya of Spain or Argentina's Juan Ignacio Chela, the winner of the Estoril title last weekend.
Third round results:
Rainer Schuettler (GER) bt Lleyton Hewitt (AUS) 6-4, 3-6, 6-4; Tim Henman (GBR) bt Nicolas Massu (CHI) 3-6, 6-4, 6-3; David Nalbandian (ARG) bt Fabrice Santoro (FRA) 6-3, 6-2; Alberto Martin (SPA) bt Agustin Calleri (ARG) 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7/1); Marat Safin (RUS) bt Wayne Arthurs (AUS) 6-4, 6-2; Guillermo Coria (ARG) bt Andrei Pavel (ROM) 4-6, 6-1, 6-4; Nikolay Davydenko (RUS) bt Ivan Ljubicic (CRO) 6-2, 6-2. -AFP
