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Lu victory earns clash with Andy Roddick

Lu Yen-hsun hits a backhand to Juergen Melzer in their second round Regions Morgan Keegan Championships tennis match at the Racquet Club of Memphis, in Tennessee, on Thursday. PHOTO: EPA

Andy Roddick advanced on Thursday in the second round at the US$865,000 ATP and WTA tournament setting up a clash with Taiwan's Lu Yen-hsun (盧彥勳).

The top seeded Roddick and the third-seeded British teenager Andrew Murray are both a win away from a rematch of last weekend's semi-final at San Jose where the Scot beat his US opponent en route to winning the title.

Advance

Roddick on Thursday turned back German Benjamin Becker, 7-6 (7/4), 6-4, while Murray beat Dane Kristian Pless, 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) to advance to the quarter-finals.

Murray next faces Austrian Stefan Koubek.

Lu put himself in the quarter-final path of Roddick by advancing 7-6 (7/2), 1-1 when Austrian sixth seed Jurgen Melzer retired due to a stomach complaint.

Defending men's champion Tommy Haas and women's top seed Shahar Peer each advanced with straight-set victories.

Haas, the second seed from Germany, downed Amer Delic of the US 7-6 (7/2), 7-6 (7/5) to book a quarter-final date yesterday against Sam Querrey, who upset French seventh seed Julien Benneteau 6-3, 6-4.

US fourth seed Mardy Fish eliminated Argentina's Juan Martin Del Porto 6-1, 7-6 (9/7), earning the right to play Teimuraz Gabashvili of Russia in the quarter-finals.

In the women's draw, Venus Williams continued her comeback with a 7-6 (7/2), 6-4 triumph over countrywoman Laura Granville to advance to the semi-finals.

Nagging injury

Williams is making her first appearance in more than four months because of a nagging wrist injury.

She will face Ioana Raluca Olaru next. The Romanian advanced when fourth-seeded Samantha Stosur of Austria retired in the first set with a viral illness.

Israel's Peer defeated Bethanie Mattek 6-0, 6-3 to reach a semi-final match against Meilen Tu of the US, who eliminated Sofia Arvidsson of Sweden 6-0, 6-2.
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