30 July 2004	Friday	12 Jamadi-us-Saani 1425

SAN DIEGO, July 29: Australian Alicia Molik stunned second seed Amelie Mauresmo 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 on Wednesday to go through to the third round of the $1.3 million Acura Classic.

But fourth seed Lindsay Davenport kept up her winning streak in California, landing her 10th consecutive victory in her home state by defeating Croatian teenager Karolina Sprem 6-4, 6-0.

Playing her first match on hard courts after reaching the Wimbledon semifinals at the start of the month, Frenchwoman Mauresmo was overpowered by Molik, who served well and shone at the net.

The 23-year-old Molik avenged her defeat at the hands of Mauresmo at this year's Australian Open. Despite the defeat, number three Mauresmo will leapfrog number two Kim Clijsters in the world rankings on Monday. The Belgian, who reached the final here last year, has not played since April due to a wrist injury.

However, world number four Anastasia Myskina and number five Davenport can both pass Mauresmo and Clijsters should they advance deep into this week's tournament. Former number one Davenport is coming off title triumphs at nearby Stanford and Los Angeles.

After a difficult first set against the hard-hitting Sprem, she ran away with the match. The 28-year-old American controlled the contest with a variety of well-placed serves and groundstrokes that kept finding the lines.

Mauresmo was not the only seed to fall, as French teenager Marion Bartoli crushed number nine Paola Suarez of Argentina 6-3, 6-0. Seventh seed Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia beat Slovak Daniela Hantuchova 6-1 6-2 while eighth seed Ai Sugiyama of Japan dismissed fellow countrywoman Shinobu Asagoe 6-2, 6-2.

Russia's Elena Bovina defeated Eleni Daniilidou of Greece 6-1, 6-4 to earn a third-round match against top seed Serena Williams. Argentina's Gisela Dulko put out former French Open winner Mary Pierce 6-3, 7-6 and now takes on her former junior doubles partner, Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova.

WEDNESDAY'S RESULTS (PREFIX NUMBER DENOTES SEEDING):

SECOND ROUND: 4-Lindsay Davenport (US) beat Karolina Sprem (Croatia) 6-4, 6-0; Gisela Dulko (Argentina) beat Mary Pierce (France) 6-3, 7-6 (7-1); Elena Likhovtseva (Russia) beat Barbora Strycova (Czech Republic) 6-4, 6-3; Marion Bartoli (France) beat 9-Paola Suarez (Argentina) 6-3, 6-0; Elena Bovina (Russia) beat Eleni Daniilidou (Greece) 6-1, 6-4; Alicia Molik (Australia) beat 2-Amelie Mauresmo (France) 7-5, 3-6, 6-3; Conchita Martinez (Spain) beat Iveta Benesova (Czech Republic) 6-3, 6-4; 8-Ai Sugiyama (Japan) beat Shinobu Asagoe (Japan) 6-2, 6-2; 7-Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia) beat Daniela Hantuchova (Slovakia) 6-1, 6-2; Chanda Rubin (US) beat Jelena Kostanic (Croatia) 6-4, 6-3.

TORONTO MASTERS

TORONTO: Andy Roddick kept pace with top seed Roger Federer on Wednesday, easily advancing to the second round of the $2.5 million Toronto Masters as opponent Julien Benneteau suffered a mid-match injury.

Roddick, the Toronto defending champion and winner of a second straight title at the weekend in Indianapolis, advanced 6-4, 6-2 against the hampered Frenchman. World number one Federer completed a match he had begun 18 hours before on the previous evening, ousting Moroccan Hicham Arazi 6-3, 7-5.

Federer next faces a second-round contest with Swede Robin Soderling. Three Argentine seeds crashed out at the first hurdle, with Peru's Luis Horna going through as number three Guillermo Coria quit trailing 5-1 with a right shoulder problem.

Russian Mikhail Youzhny recovered in the final set to overhaul David Nalbandian, seeded sixth, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. Australian newcomer Todd Reid scalped Roland Garros champion Gaston Gaudio 7-6 (7-2), 5-7, 6-3.

Fellow Aussie ninth seed Lleyton Hewitt came good after a torrid first set from Spanish teenager Rafael Nadal, producing a patented 1-6, 6-4, 6-2 fight-back victory. Fourth seed Carlos Moya continued his season-long domination of Spanish compatriots as he claimed his 14th victory against a countryman in 2004.

His latest victim was Fernando Verdasco, who went down 6-7 (9-11), 6-3, 6-4. Tim Henman put aside a wait of nearly 12 hours on a drizzly on Tuesday, taking just 73 minutes on Wednesday to tame Argentine Mariano Zabaleta 6-4, 6-1. The victory puts the fifth seed into a second-round clash with crowd-favourite Gustavo Kuerten.

WEDNESDAY'S RESULTS:

FIRST ROUND: 1-Roger Federer (Switzerland) beat Hicham Arazi (Morocco) 6-3, 7-5; 2-Andy Roddick (US) beat Julien Benneteau (France) 6-4, 6-2; Luis Horna (Peru) beat 3-Guillermo Coria (Argentina) 5-1 - retired; 4-Carlos Moya (Spain) beat Fernando Verdasco (Spain) 6-7 (9-11), 6-3, 6-4; 5-Tim Henman (Britain) beat Mariano Zabaleta (Argentina) 6-4, 6-1; Mikhail Youzhny (Russia) beat 6-David Nalbandian (Argentina) 3-6, 6-3, 6-4; 8-Rainer Schuettler (Germany) beat Fernando Gonzalez (Chile) 3-6, 6-4, 6-3; 9-Lleyton Hewitt (Australia) beat Rafael Nadal (Spain) 1-6, 6-4, 6-2; Todd Reid (Australia) beat 11-Gaston Gaudio (Argentina) 7-6 (7-2), 5-7, 6-3; Gregory Carraz (France) beat 12-Sebastien Grosjean (France) 6-2, 7-6 (7-3); Thomas Johansson (Sweden) beat 13-Nicolas Massu (Chile) 6-4, 6-4; Nicolas Kiefer (Germany) beat 15-Marat Safin (Russia) 6-7 (3-7), 6-4, 7-6 (7-2); Vincent Spadea (US) beat Frank Dancevic (Canada) 6-1, 6-4; Jurgen Melzer (Austria) beat Dominik Hrbaty (Slovakia) 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7-3); Ivan Ljubicic (Croatia) beat Karol Beck (Slovakia) 6-2, 5-7, 6-3; Jiri Novak (Czech Republic) beat Jonas Bjorkman (Sweden) 5-7, 7-6 (12-10), 6-0; Feliciano Lopez (Spain) beat Nicolas Escude (France) 7-6 (7-1), 6-2; Frederic Niemeyer (Canada) beat David Sanchez (Spain) 6-1, 6-4. -Agencies