Top-seeded Fernando Verdaso was knocked out of the quarter-finals of the Mexican Open on Thursday by Juan Monaco, while women’s No. 1 seed Venus Williams fought back from 1-5 down in the final set to survive.
Monaco of Argentina beat top-seeded Verdasco of Spain 7-5, 6-3.
Williams had a tougher-than-expected struggle against Spanish qualifier Laura Pous Tio, finally winning 4-6, 6-3, 7-5. Pous Tio is ranked No. 399 and Williams is No. 5.
PHOTO: AFP
Verdasco, who defeated Andy Roddick in an ATP final two weeks ago in San Jose, California, said he had not adjusted to clay after not having played on the surface for seven months.
“I played better than the first two days here, but I still didn’t have the level I needed to beat a solid player on clay — and one who played well like Juan,” Verdasco said. “There is not much more to say.”
Monaco credited his serve.
“I have beaten a top 10 guy who has been playing well for several years, but I can’t think about it too much because tomorrow I have to start from zero,” Monaco said.
Fernando Gonzalez of Chile rallied to beat Eduardo Schwank of Argentina 3-6, 6-3, 7-5, while third-seeded David Ferrer of Spain defeated Uruguay’s Pablo Cuevas 7-5, 6-4.
“When I won the first set, the second was easier, and I played with more confidence and was more aggressive,” Ferrer said.
In the other quarter-final, No. 4 Juan Carlos Ferrero defeated two-time defending champion and fellow Spaniard Nicolas Almagro 6-1, 5-7, 6-2.
In the semi-finals, Ferrer plays Gonzalez and Ferrero faces Monaco.
Williams got herself into several holes with loose ground strokes and showed this is her first tournament of the season on clay — her weakest surface.
“I just thought: ‘I’m not going to give it to her.’ That’s the first thing I thought,” Williams said.
Williams, who won here last year, was cheered on by thousands of fans.
“I really have never had that kind of support, ever in my life,” Williams said. “It was just really amazing.”
In the other women’s quarter-finals, Polona Hercog of Slovenia advanced to the semi-finals over second-seeded Agnes Szavay of Hungary. Hercog won the first set 6-4 and Szavay was up 1-0 in the second before she retired with a left-thigh injury.
No. 5 Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain defeated No. 3 Gisela Dulko of Argentina 6-1, 7-6 (7/4), and Edina Gallovits of Romania won over Sharon Fichman of Canada, 7-5, 6-2.
In the semi-finals, Williams plays Gallovits and Suarez Navarro is against Hercog.
■DELRAY BEACH
AP, DELRAY BEACH, FLORIDA
Second-seeded Ivo Karlovic of Croatia blasted 26 aces past Germany’s Daniel Brands in a 7-6 (10/8), 7-6 (8/6) victory in the second round of the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships on Thursday.
Karlovic ended the match against the 100th-ranked Brands with an untouchable ace sliced out wide.
On a Florida day that was atypically cold and typically windy, Karlovic never faced a break-point on serve. Brands escaped the one break-point opportunity he offered Karlovic in the 10th game of the first set.
Karlovic’s 26 aces came up six short of the Open era record of 32 in a two-set match he set last week at the Memphis tournament.
Karlovic will face seventh-seeded James Blake in the quarter-finals.
Blake, a two-time Delray Beach finalist, earned his spot in the quarter-finals with a a 6-3, 6-1 win over Robin Haase of the Netherlands.
Third-seeded Benjamin Becker of Germany received a walkover against Wayne Odesnik of the US, who sprained his right ankle during his first-round match.
Becker will face unseeded Jarko Nieminen in the quarter-finals.
The Finn was a 5-7, 6-1, 6-0 victor over last year’s finalist, Evgeny Korolev of Russia.
Fourth-seeded Frenchman Jeremy Chardy also progressed to the last eight with a 7-5, 4-6, 7-5 win over Santiago Giraldo of Colombia.
In a reprise of last year’s semi-final, Chardy will take on defending champion Mardy Fish, who secured a quarter-final berth by outlasting Mischa Zverev of Germany 6-2, 6-4.
Ernests Gulbis of Latvia also moved into the quarters with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Teimuraz Gabashvili of Russia, who knocked out top seed Tommy Haas in the first round.
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