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Top-seeded Davydenko knocked out at Pilot Pen

Elena Likhovtseva of Russia reacts to a lost point to Amelie Mauresmo of France during the Pilot Pen Tennis tournament on Wednesday in New Haven, Connecticut. PHOTO: AFP

Juan Ignacio Chela of Argentina overcame a big deficit in the tiebreaker and upset top-seeded Nikolay Davydenko 6-1, 7-6 (5) in the second round of the Pilot Pen on Wednesday.

Chela was cruising at 6-1, 3-0 before Davydenko rallied. The Russian won the next four games, but Chela held service to tie the set at 4-4.

In the tiebreaker, Davydenko, ranked sixth, surged to a 4-1 lead but lost the next five points, two when he hit backhands into the net. Chela, ranked 50th, then hit a forehand into the net. But Davydenko ended a long rally -- and the match -- when his crosscourt forehand from the right corner sailed wide.

Davydenko's baseline style helps Chela, who is unbeaten in four matches against him. That gives Chela a "lot of rhythm and that's the way [Chela] likes to play," he said through an interpreter.

Davydenko increased the tension on his rackets for this tournament but, after falling far behind, switched back to one with less tension that gave him more control. Then, he started his comeback but broke his racket late in the match and went back to one with greater tension.

Juan Ignacio Chela of Argentina lines up a backhand against Nikolay Davydenko of Russia during the Pilot Pen Tennis tournament on Wednesday at the Connecticut Tennis Center at Yale in New Haven, Connecticut. PHOTO: AFP

"I don't know if it's me or the rackets" responsible for the loss, Davydenko said.

Second-seeded Fernando Gonzalez of Chile won the last four games to rally past wild card Justin Gimelstob of the US, 6-2, 3-6, 6-4.

No. 3-seeded David Ferrer of Spain, German No. 6 Tommy Haas and seventh-seeded Nicolas Massu of Chile also won their second-round matches, but the seeded losers included No. 8 Olivier Rochus of Belgium, No. 10 Filippo Volandri of Italy, No. 11 Jurgen Melzer of Austria and No. 16 Gael Monfils of France, along with No. 13 Paul-Henri Mathieu to 1992 New Haven runner-up Fabrice Santoro in an all-French affair, 6-4, 7-6 (2).

Volandri, yet to win on hardcourts this season, lasted only 42 minutes against American wild card James Blake, 6-1, 6-3.

"It was one of those days where everything was going in," Blake said.

Rising star Monfils, winner of his first career title this month in Sopot, Poland lost to Stefan Koubek of Austria 4-6, 7-5, 7-5. Monfils was broken in the last game of the second set to even the sets, and lost his serve three more times in the third set.

Daniela Hantuchova upset sixth-seeded Patty Schnyder 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 for the first time in more than two years to reach the women's quarterfinals.

Hantuchova hadn't beaten the Swiss star since the 2003 Australian Open, and lost their previous four matchups. Schnyder still leads their head-to-heads 7-4.

Schnyder, winner of two WTA Tour titles this season and back in the top 10 after six years, broke Hantuchova once for the first set, then the Slovak broke back twice in the second, and took her only chance in the final set of the second-round match.

Hantuchova has reached at least the quarterfinals in four North American hardcourt events -- including the final at Los Angeles, and semifinals at Cincinnati -- but runs into top-seeded Lindsay Davenport next.

The second-seeded Amelie Mauresmo swept aside Elena Likhovtseva 6-1, 6-3 for a sixth straight win over the Russian. Mauresmo has never lost before the quarterfinals in six appearances at New Haven. She'll next face Anna-Lena Groenefeld of Germany, who beat Meghann Shaughnessy of the US 6-3, 7-5 for the first time in three meetings.

Anna Chakvetadze downed Russian countrywoman Maria Kirilenko 6-3, 6-3, and will meet Jie Zheng of China, who lost in qualifying but reached the main draw when fifth-seeded Nadia Petrova withdrew injured. Jie reached her first quarterfinals since May after putting away American qualifier Jamea Jackson 6-3, 6-4.

The other quarter features fourth-seeded Elena Dementieva against Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain.
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