15 April 2005	Friday	05 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1426

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CHARLESTON (South Carolina), April 14: World number one Lindsay Davenport and fourth seed Venus Williams advanced with ease at the WTA Family Circle Cup here on Wednesday but Russian third seed Anastasia Myskina was ousted.

Davenport eliminated Canadian qualifier Marie-Eve Pelletier 6-4, 7-6 (7/3) at the 1.3 million-dollar clay court event. The 28-year-old American has won two titles in 2004, including her 47th career crown last week at Amelia Island.

Davenport, 25-3 this season, plays for a quarterfinal berth against Ukrainian qualifier Viktoriya Kutuzova, who eliminated Colombia’s Fabiola Zuluaga 6-3, 6-1 at the French Open tuneup event.

Defending champion Williams fired 31 winners to bounce Czech Denisa Chladkova 7-6 (7/1), 6-2. The American will next meet France’s Tatiana Golovin in a third-round match.

Anastasia Myskina’s slump continued as Czech Nicole Vaidisova defeated the third seed 6-3, 5-7, 6-4, dropping Myskina to 8-8 for the year after a 55-18 season last year.

Vaidisova next faces Japan’s Shinobu Asagoe, who advanced in a walkover due to a lower back injury to American Meghann Shaughnessy.

Belgium’s Justine Henin-Hardenne outlasted China’s Shuai Peng 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 to also reach the round of 16. Henin-Hardenne next faces Czech Iveta Benesova with a potential quarter-final spot opposite American Davenport awaiting her.

Second seed Elena Dementieva of Russia, who advanced on Tuesday, will next face Nuria Llagostera Vives after the Spaniard defeated France’s Mary Pierce 6-4, 7-6 (7/3).

Results: (second round): Patty Schnyder (SUI ) bt Marta Marrero (ESP) 6-2, 7-5; Tatiana Golovin (FRA) bt Lisa Raymond (USA) 6-4, 6-3; Klara Koukalova (CZE) bt Samantha Stosur (AUS) 6-3, 6-3; Ai Sugiyama (JPN) bt Anna-Lena Groenefeld (GER) 6-2, 6-4; Katarina Srebotnik (SLO) bt Tatiana Perebiynis (UKR) 2-6, 6-3, 6-1; Justine Henin-Hardenne (BEL) bt Shuai Peng (CHN) 6-2, 4-6, 6-4;Viktoriya Kutuzova (UKR) bt Fabiola Zuluaga (COL) 6-3, 6-1; Jelena Kostanic (CRO) bt Barbora Strycova (CZE) 6-3, 6-2; Lindsay Davenport (USA ) bt Marie-Eve Pelletier (CAN) 6-2, 6-2; Nuria Llagostera Vives (ESP) bt Mary Pierce (FRA) 6-4, 7-6 (7/3); Shinobu Asagoe (JPN) bt Meghann Shaughnessy (USA), walkover, lower back injury; Nicole Vaidisova (CZE) bt Anastasia Myskina (RUS ) 6-3, 5-7, 6-4; Venus Williams (USA) bt Denisa Chladkova (CZE) 7-6 (7/1), 6-2.

Nadal, Federer win

MONACO: Top seeds Roger Federer and Marat Safin brushed aside feeble opposition at the Monte Carlo Masters on Wednesday but Spanish teenager Rafael Nadal handed the pair a devastating demonstration of his own claims to the title.

World number one Federer picked up his 24th successive win of the season with a 6-3, 6-4 defeat of Spain’s Albert Montanes while Safin, the second seed, eased past Cyril Saulnier of France 6-3, 6-1 to reach the third round.

But it was 18-year-old Nadal’s stunning 6-0, 6-3 dismissal of hapless Belgian Xavier Malisse which caught the attention.

The 11th seed, who has already picked up two clay court titles this year, brushed aside Malisse in exactly one hour with a devastating array of whipped forehands, drop shots and sweetly-timed volleys.

Such was Nadal’s dominance that Malisse managed to win just nine points in the first set and only four from four Nadal service games in the second.

The Monte Carlo tournament holds special memories for the 18-year-old who is widely tipped to be a serious contender at the French Open.

Two years ago, he qualified for a Masters event for the first time here knocking out countryman Albert Costa, who was French Open champion at the time, on his way to the third round.

“That win over Costa was a very important moment for me. I think I showed I could compete against the top guys,” said Nadal who now meets another Belgian, Olivier Rochus in the third round with a potential quarterfinal showdown against French Open winner Gaston Gaudio.

Should he get through that, Federer would most likely be waiting in the semi-finals, just two weeks after the young Spaniard squandered a two sets lead over the Swiss in the Miami Masters final.

Federer, who now has a 33-1 season record, took just 59 minutes to see off Montanes even losing his serve in the eighth game of the second set as he treated large parts of his second round tie as little more than a training exercise.

Montanes, limited at the best of times, had no answer to Federer’s ability to mix his game, attacking from both the baseline and at the net.

The Swiss now takes on Chile’s Fernando Gonzalez, who put out 13th seeded Croatian Mario Ancic, for a quarterfinal place.

Results (second round): Roger Federer (Switzerland) bt Albert Montanes (Spain) 6-3 6-4; Fernando Gonzalez (Chile) bt 13-Mario Ancic (Croatia) 6-2 7-6(4); Nikolay Davydenko (Russia) bt Albert Costa (Spain) 7-6(2) 6-3; Richard Gasquet (France) bt Felix Mantilla (Spain) 7-5 6-1; Gaston Gaudio (Argentina) bt Nicolas Kiefer (Germany) 7-5 5-2Ret. Victor Hanescu (Romania) bt 15-Radek Stepanek (Czech Republic) 6-3 2-6 6-0; Rafael Nadal (Spain) bt Xavier Malisse (Belgium) 6-0 6-3; Olivier Rochus (Belgium) bt Tomas Berdych (Czech Republic) 7-6(4) 3-6 6-2; Guillermo Coria (Argentina) bt Thierry Ascione (France) 6-2 6-1; Alberto Martin (Spain) bt Jean-Rene Lisnard (France) 6-1 6-2; David Ferrer (Spain) bt Andreas Seppi (Italy) 6-3 6-3; Mariano Zabaleta (Argentina) bt Fabrice Santoro (France) 6-7(1) 6-3 6-4; Mariano Puerta (Argentina) bt Florian Mayer (Germany) 6-2 6-1; Filippo Volandri (Italy) bt 9-Guillermo Canas (Argentina) 6-4 2-6 6-3; Juan Carlos Ferrero (Spain) bt 16-Jiri Novak (Czech Republic) 3-6 6-3 6-2; Marat Safin (Russia) bt Cyril Saulnier (France) 6-3 6-1.—Agencies