Top seed Andy Roddick slumped to a 6-7 (5), 6-2, 4-6 defeat to
Frenchman Fabrice Santoro in the first round of the Lyon Grand Prix
on Wednesday.
The American, though, has already qualified for next month's
season-ending Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai.
Frenchman Richard Gasquet boosted his bid to qualify for the
Masters Cup with a 7-6 (5), 6-3 victory over Belgian Christophe
Rochus.
Fourth seed Gasquet, who won the Lyon title last year, blasted
Rochus off the court with 23 aces.
Gasquet is 11th in the ATP Race standings, eight points behind
eighth-placed German Tommy Haas who holds the last qualifying spot
for the Masters Cup. "I've had a lot of physical problems lately
with my elbow and knee," Gasquet told reporters. "The court is also
faster than last year which does not suit me.
"I now need to reach the semifinals at least to score points in
the (Masters Cup) race."
Next week's Masters Series event in Paris will be the last
chance for Shanghai hopefuls.
Marc Gicquel of France, beaten by Gasquet in last year's final,
beat German Benjamin Becker 6-3, 6-3 in a second-round match.
Santoro, who won his first career ATP tour title in Lyon in
1997, faced only two break points against Roddick and prevailed
after just over two hours on the Lyon carpet.
The 34-year-old French veteran, whose title at Newport, Rhode
Island, in July, was his first in six years on tour, advanced to
face compatriot Sebastien Grosjean, who dispatched another
Frenchman Rodolphe Cadart 6-3, 6-2.
In Linz, Austria, second seed Daniela Hantuchova beat
Argentina's Gisela Dulko 6-3, 6-1 yesterday to reach the
quarterfinals at the Generali Ladies.
An early break was enough for the 10th-ranked Slovakian to win
the first set. In the second, Hantuchova broke three times and
dropped only two points on her serve to close out the match.
Hantuchova will next meet either Eleni Daniilidou or Alona
Bondarenko.
Julia Vakulenko saved 10 of 11 break points to beat Ai Sugiyama
6-0, 6-2. She will now play either third seed Marion Bartoli or
Tamira Paszek.
In St. Petersburg, Russia, top-seeded Nikolay Davydenko beat
Filippo Volandri 6-1, 6-1 on Wednesday to advance to the second
round at the St. Petersburg Open.
Davydenko, who withdrew from the Madrid Masters last week
because of a right elbow injury, broke the 44th-ranked Italian two
times in the first set.
Volandri broke the Russian to trail 1-3 in the second set before
losing three straight games.
Fifth-seeded Dmitry Tursunov of Russia also advanced, rallying
to beat Boris Pashanski of Serbia 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.
(Shanghai Daily via AgenciesOctober 26, 2007)