James Blake started fast and finished strong. He struggled in between before serving three straight aces to close out a 6-0, 1-6, 7-5 win over Paul Goldstein in the second round of the ATP Countrywide Classic on Thursday.
The No. 2 seed, and the favorite following top seed Fernando Gonzalez's loss on Tuesday, Blake was to face Vincent Spadea in the quarter-finals yesterday. Spadea celebrated his 33rd birthday by beating fifth-seeded Dmitry Tursunov 6-7 (5), 7-5, 6-3.
Also advancing on Thursday were Zack Fleishman -- 7-6 (4), 6-3 over Robert Kendrick -- and Radek Stepanek, a 6-2, 6-2 winner over sixth-seeded Mardy Fish.
Blake, 27, is making his first appearance in the quarter-finals of the tournament at the Los Angeles Tennis Center. He bowed out in the first round in 2001 and the second round in 2005.
Goldstein, 30, had been a quarter-finalist for the second time last year and was in position to get there again until Blake hit a forehand winner for a service break and a 6-5 lead in the third set. Then Blake made sure Goldstein did not have a chance to break back by serving his 10th, 11th and 12th aces of the match on the final three points.
"I know how well Paul can play and how much fight he has," Blake said. "A lot of guys get down 6-0 and kind of throw in the towel. He didn't stop fighting. That's why he's one of the best competitors out here."
Spadea, who said he's still trying to maximize his potential, called the 6-7 (5), 7-5, 6-3 victory over No. 5 seen Dmitry Tursunov "a great mental match for me." Spadea advanced to the quarter-finals of a tournament for the seventh time this year, though he has reached the semis just once.
Fleishman, who beat top-seeded Fernando Gonzalez on Tuesday, beat fellow American Robert Kendrick, 7-6 (4), 6-3 to reach the quarters. Stepanek, of the Czech Republic, ousted No. 6 seed Mardy Fish, 6-2, 6-2.
After losing the first set, Spadea trailed 5-3 in the second after having his service broken for the second time. He won the next four games and the set, losing only four points in the process. Then he got a service break in the fifth game of the third set to take a 3-2 lead and closed it out with a break in the ninth game thanks to a pair of double faults by Tursunov.
Govortsova upsets Craybas
Unseeded teen Olga Govortsova of Belarus reached the quarter-finals of a WTA tournament for the first time on Thursday by beating ninth-seeded Jill Craybas of the US 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-1 at the Cincinnati Women's Open.
Akgul Amanmuradova of Uzbekistan also advanced to the quarter-finals of an event higher than Tier IV for the first time with a 2-6, 7-5, 7-6 (4) victory over Bethanie Mattek of the US.
Govortsova, 18, coming off a defeat to finalist Marion Bartoli in the second round at Wimbledon, rebounded from a loss in the first-set tiebreaker and dominated the 33-year-old Craybas in the final two sets. The 107th-ranked Govortsova, who lost to Craybas on hard courts at a satellite tour event in February, closed out the match by breaking her 66th-ranked opponent with a forehand down the line.
Anastia Rodionova of Russia, who was defaulted from her first-round match for what tournament referee William Coffey called "unsportsmanlike conduct" after she smacked a ball in frustration in the direction of some fans on Tuesday, has been fined US$5,000 by the WTA Tour. Rodionova is still playing doubles in the tournament with Lilia Osterloh of the US.
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