June 17, 2006	Saturday	Jumadi-ul-Awwal 20, 1427

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LONDON, June 16: Rafael Nadal survived a scare from fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco on Thursday to set up an intriguing quarter-final against Australian Lleyton Hewitt in the Stella Artois tennis championships.

The French Open champion passed his first big grasscourt test in preparation for Wimbledon with a three-hour, 2-6, 7-6, 7-6 victory over Verdasco in the third round, but only just.

French 19-year-old Gael Monfils upset Croatian second seed Ivan Ljubicic 7-6, 7-5 while triple defending champion Andy Roddick had to fight hard on the Queen's Club grass for a 7-6, 6-3 victory over Thailand's Paradorn Srichaphan.

Hewitt, three time champion at Queen's Club, recovered from a difficult start to earn a 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 victory over tall Belarussian Max Mirnyi.

Briton Tim Henman strolled into the quarter-finals with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over France's Nicolas Mahut.

The four-time Wimbledon semi-finalist will need his best tennis in the last eight against jinx opponent Dmitry Tursunov after the Russian overcame Taiwan's Yeu-Tzuoo Wang in three sets.

Hard-hitting Tursunov knocked Henman out of last year's Wimbledon and both the Australian Open and French Open this year.

Australian Mark Philippoussis, the 1997 champion, was knocked out 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 by Chilean Fernando Gonzalez, who faces Roddick next.

American James Blake, the fifth seed, ousted compatriot Robby Ginepri 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. In the quarter-finals he faces Monfils, who outlasted Ljubicic 13-11 in a first-set tiebreak and forced a match-winning break of serve in the 12th game of the second set.

Thursday’s results:

Third round: 3-Andy Roddick (US) beat 16-Paradorn Srichaphan (Thailand) 7-6 (7-5), 6-3; 13-Gael Monfils (France) beat 2-Ivan Ljubicic (Croatia) 7-6 (13-11), 7-5; 5-James Blake (US) beat 9-Robby Ginepri (US) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3; 1-Rafael Nadal (Spain) beat Fernando Verdasco (Spain) 2-6, 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-3);8-Lleyton Hewitt (Australia) beat Max Mirnyi (Belarus) 4-6, 6-1, 7-6; 15-Dmitry Tursunov (Russia) beat Yeu-Tzuoo Wang (Taiwan) 6-3, 3-6, 6-1; 6-Fernando Gonzalez (Chile) beat Mark Philippoussis (Australia) 6-2, 3-6, 6-3; Tim Henman (Britain) beat Nicolas Mahut (France) 6-3, 6-4.

HALLE INTERNATIONAL RESULTS:

Second round: 7-Olivier Rochus (Belgium) beat Marat Safin (Russia) 4-6, 6-4, 6-1; 6-Tommy Haas (Germany) beat Andreas Seppi (Italy) 6-1, 6-2; 1-Roger Federer (Switzerland) beat Richard Gasquet (France) 7-6 (9-7), 6-7 (7-9), 6-4; 5-Tomas Berdych (Czech Republic) beat Jiri Novak (Czech Republic) 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 7-5; Robin Soederling (Sweden) beat Andrei Pavel (Romania) 4-6, 6-3, 6-0; Fabrice Santoro (France) beat Arnaud Clement (France) 6-4, 7-6 (7-2).

MIRZA OUSTED

BIRMINGHAM: Defending champion Maria Sharapova swept into the quarter-finals of the Birmingham Classic with a 6-2, 6-4 win over China's Li Na on Thursday.

Sharapova will next face Italian Mara Santangelo, who knocked out Japanese fifth seed Ai Sugiyama 7-6, 6-4.

Unseeded American Jamea Jackson stunned eighth seed and last year's beaten finalist Jelena Jankovic 6-4, 0-6, 7-5.

Just when it seemed that Sania Mirza was back to the form which made her such a hit at last year's Wimbledon, she blew a great chance to reach her first quarter-final since October.

The 19-year-old from Hyderabad led by a set and 3-1, and by 5-3 in the final set before somehow contriving to lose 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-3) to Meilen Tu, a qualifier from the US.

Results:

Third round: 4-Elena Likhovtseva (Russia) beat Lisa Raymond (US) 7-5, 6-4; Meilen Tu (US) beat 14-Sania Mirza (India) 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-3); 1-Maria Sharapova (Russia) beat 13-Na Li (China) 6-2, 6-4; Jamea Jackson (US) beat 8-Jelena Jankovic (Serbia and Montenegro) 6-4, 0-6, 7-5; 2-Francesca Schiavone (Italy) beat Tsvetana Pironkova (Bulgaria) 3-6, 6-3, 6-1; 6-Marion Bartoli (France) beat Ayumi Morita (Japan) 6-4, 5-7, 6-2; 12-Mara Santangelo (Italy) beat 5-Ai Sugiyama (Japan) 7-6 (7-4), 6-4; Vera Zvonareva (Russia) beat 7-Anna Chakvetadze (Russia) 6-4, 6-3—Agencies