January 23, 2006	Monday	Zilhaj 22, 1426

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MELBOURNE, Jan 22: Second seed Andy Roddick suffered a shock defeat on Sunday to a flamboyant Cypriot who is developing a cult following at the Australian Open. Marcos Baghdatis scored the biggest win of his career with a 6-4 1-6 6-3 6-4 upset in the fourth round that sparked wild celebrations among fans from Melbourne’s Greek community who have adopted Baghdatis as one of their own.

The top women’s seeds all advanced safely although world number one Lindsay Davenport survived an injury scare before limping to a 6-2 6-4 win over Russia’s Svetlana Kuznetsova.

Fourth seed Maria Sharapova defeated Slovakia’s Daniela Hantuchova — the conqueror of defending champion Serena Williams — 6-4 6-4 on a brutally hot court to set up an all-Russian quarter-final with Nadia Petrova.

Baghdatis racked up 63 clean winners in a stunning display that blunted Roddick’s powerful serve. The Cypriot even outserved the American, slamming 16 aces to Roddick’s 15.

Baghdatis is now through to his first grand slam quarterfinal and growing in confidence. He plays seventh seed Ivan Ljubicic after the Croatian toppled Sweden’s former Open champion Thomas Johansson 6-2 6-4 6-4.

Roddick’s defeat leaves Argentina’s Masters Cup champion David Nalbandian as the highest ranked player in the bottom half of the men’s singles draw.

The fourth seed reached the quarterfinals for the fourth successive year on Sunday with a 6-3 6-0 2-6 6-2 victory over Spain’s Tommy Robredo.

He plays Fabrice Santoro after the Frenchman known as “the magician” beat Spanish baseliner David Ferrer 6-4 7-5 7-5 to reach his first grand slam quarterfinal in his 18th year on the professional circuit.

Ljubicic, hero of Croatia’s Davis Cup victory last year, is the first man to reach the last eight without losing a set.

World number one Roger Federer and Paul-Henri Mathieu of France are also yet to drop a set and they play their fourth round matches on Monday.

Eighth seed Justine Henin-Hardenne underlined her standing as favourite to win the women’s tournament with a crushing 6-0 6-3 defeat of Virginia Ruano Pascual. The Belgian will play Davenport on Tuesday for a place in the semi-finals.

Davenport looked to be in serious trouble when she jammed her ankle on the sticky Rebound Ace courts midway through the second set.

Tournament organisers invoked the extreme heat rule for the third day in a row, closing the roofs over the two main courts as the mercury soared to 43 degrees celsius.

Sharapova, the 2004 Wimbledon champion and a semiinalist in Melbourne last year, fought back from a break down in each set to end Hantuchova’s run.

Results

Women’s singles (fourth round)

Nadia Petrova bt Elena Vesnina 6-3, 6-1; Lindsay Davenport bt Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-2, 6-4; Justine Henin-Hardenne bt Virginia Ruano Pascual 6-0, 6-3; Maria Sharapova bt Daniela Hantuchova 6-4, 6-4

Men’s singles (fourth round)

David Nalbandian) bt Tommy Robredo 6-3, 6-0, 2-6, 6-2; Marcos Baghdatis bt Andy Roddick 6-4, 1-6, 6-3, 6-4; Fabrice Santoro bt David Ferrer 6-4, 7-5, 7-5; Ivan Ljubicic bt Thomas Johansson 6-2, 6-4, 6-4.—AFP