LOS ANGELES, July 15: Confident Greg Rusedski rallied past Slovak Karol Beck 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-2), winning his seventh straight match in a mid-season hot streak to reach the quarterfinals of the 380,000- dollar Mercedes-Benz Cup on Wednesday.
The 30-year-old Briton, riding the momentum from his weekend title in Newport, Rhode Island on grass, has now earned victory in seven of his last eight starts. The left-hander kept his famed temper more or less in check as he advised silence to a rowdy pro-Beck spectator who was cheering Rusedski's errors during a particularly testing moment in the eighth game of the final set.
"I don't mind if people cheer for someone, but if they cheer your mistakes, then it's obnoxious," said Rusedski. But, eager to put the famed incident of Wimbledon 2003 out of mind - he copped a fine for turning the air blue with expletives live on the BBC during a loss to Andy Roddick - Rusedski turned the conversation to tennis.
"I knew it would be a tough match, he's a dangerous player. I was tired today and I'm pleased to get through," he said. "In the tie- breaker I was confident. I managed to hang in there and get the win."
The contest, which lasted one hour and 47 minutes, was filled with twists and momentum shifts for the veteran, who sat out four months of this season as he worked to successfully clear his name of steroid charges, returning to the ATP circuit in May.
Rusedski struck 16 aces and saved 10 of the 12 break points he faced. He credited his fighting spirit with seeing him through. "I had the momentum from Newport," said the world number 98. "It was a bit of a grind. He should have won, but momentum was with me. I got through somehow."
Rusedski squared the ledger at a set each after breaking Beck for 4-2, trading love games with the world number 65, and then hammering over a service winner. In the third, the Canadian-born Brit found himself embroiled in a battle against Beck, who surprisingly posted a 5-3 record during the grass season which included an upset of Tim Henman at Queen's club.
Rusedski scrambled to save four break points in the sixth game before double-faulting on a fifth to drop into a 4-2 hole. But he got it back a game later as Beck netted a forehand.
As the set crawled into a tie-breaker, two-time grand Slam finalist Rusedski cranked up his serve, reaching 3-0 before beck could react. The Briton advanced to his 13th victory of the comeback season as he smashed an overhead winner of the first of four match points, helped in part by two double-faults from Beck in the decider.
"I found a way to dig it out, this was big for me mentally and helped me feel good about myself," said Rusedski, who faces Nicolas Kiefer on Friday. The German rolled into the last eight at the Mercedes-Benz Cup for the third straight year, defeating qualifier Glenn Weiner 6-4, 7-5.
In another second-round result, Frenchman Cyril Saulnier stopped Czech Jan Hernych 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 6-3.
RESULTS SECOND ROUND: Mardy Fish bt Gilles Elsneer 6-2, 3-6, 6-3; Cyril Saulnier bt Jan Hernych 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 6-3; Nicolas Kiefer bt Glenn Weiner, U.S., 6-4, 7-5; Greg Rusedski bt Karol Beck 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-2).
Stuttgart ATP
STUTTGART: Results from the 614,750 euro ATP tournament on Thursday:
Second Round: Gaston Gaudio (ARG) bt Hugo Armando (USA) 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7/5)
Third Round: David Ferrer (SPA) bt Richard Gasquet (FRA) 6-4, 6-2; Radek Stepanek (CZE) bt Ivo Karlovic (CRO) 6-2, 7-5; Albert Costa (SPA) bt Mariano Zabaleta (ARG) 7-5, 7-6 (7/5); Jiri Novak (CZE) bt Mikail Youzhny (RUS) 7-6 (7/4), 4-6, 6-1; Nikolay Davydenko (RUS) bt Andrei Pavel (ROM) 7-5,1-6, 6-4; Gaston Gaudio (ARG) bt Tomas Berdych (CZE) 6-2, 6-4; Rafael Nadal (SPA) bt Juan Ignacio Chela (ARG) 6-2, 6-3; Guillermo Canas (ARG) bt Stefan Koubek (AUT) 6-4, 6-2. -Agencies
