Defending champion Juan Carlos Ferrero and Carlo Moya were on course for a repeat of last year's final after reaching the last eight in the Monte Carlo Masters on Thursday.
Top-seeded Ferrero wore out Argentine Gaston Gaudio, seeded 13th, 3-6, 7-5, 6-2.
PHOTO: AFP
Moya, the number two seed, was even more impressive in his 6-2, 6-4 demolition of compatriot Tommy Robredo, the 16th seed.
Ferrero now has two qualifiers in his half of the draw, his next opponent Alberto Martin, another Spaniard, and Italian Filippo Volandri.
There is no seed left in the way of Moya, who next meets the last Frenchman in the tournament, Julien Boutter, a wild card entrant after winning his first career tournament in Casablanca last week.
Tested by fellow Spaniard Felix Mantilla in the previous round, Ferrero again had to fight an uphill battle as he was trailing Gaudio 3-6, 4-5 when the match changed course.
Gaudio served a double fault as he was serving for the match, which brought Ferrero back into contention.
"Every time I play against Gaston, it is tough. It was the case again this time," said the Spaniard, who had lost four times against the Argentine in six previous encounters.
Moya, by contrast, has yet to lose a set in the tournament and will be the favorite against Boutter, who admitted he was worn out after winning eight matches in succession for the first time in his career.
"It's not as simple as it seems", said Moya, asked about the prospect of another final clash with Ferrero.
"There are other players who are playing well. All I can say is that I'm playing some of the best tennis in my life," Moya added. "I think I'm probably a better player now than I was when I won the French Open."
Boutter, 29, beat his former doubles partner Sjeng Schalken, seeded ninth, 7-6, 6-4 in the third round
"I played Moya in Toronto last year and he is by far the most impressive player I've ever played," the Frenchman said.
While most seeds crashed out in the first three rounds, except the leading two, qualifiers kept shining on the principality's clay.
Volandri, who had not won a match on the ATP circuit for the last two seasons, overcame Swede Magnus Norman 7-5 6-3.
Norman had hinted he might be returning to his best -- number two in the world in 2000 -- when he beat Gustavo Kuerten in the previous round.
Spaniard Martin, also a qualifier, beat compatriot Fernando Vicente 6-4, 7-6.
But the tournament lost its teenage sensation Rafael Nadal, who had upset French Open champion Albert Costa in the previous round. The 16-year-old lost to Argentine Guillermo Coria 7-6, 6-2.
Bausch & Lomb
Lisa Raymond used 14 aces to subdue fifth seed Jelena Dokic 6-3, 6-7, 6-2 in the third round of the Bausch & Lomb Championships on Thursday.
The 12th-seeded American recorded the only major upset of the event so far, in which most of the favorites have moved through.
It was a popular one with the crowd, as Raymond twice won the NCAA singles title while playing for Florida.
The 29-year-old will meet Jennifer Capriati in Friday's quarter-finals. Capriati struggled but rallied to defeat 15th-seeded Paola Suarez 2-6, 6-2, 7-5.
In other matches, fourth-seeded Daniela Hantuchova stopped 16th-seeded Alexandra Stevenson 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, Monica Seles, the sixth seed, stopped 11th-seeded Nathalie Dechy 6-1 6-2 and 10th-seeded Elena Dementieva got past eighth-seeded Amanda Coetzer 7-6, 6-3.
Seventh seed Patty Schnyder also advanced with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 over ninth seed Meghann Shaughnessy and second-seeded Lindsay Davenport won 6-1, 6-1 over qualifier Marlene Weingartner.
Top-seeded Justine Henin-Hardenne advanced on a walk-over when Clarisa Fernandez pulled out.
Major League Baseball (MLB) star Shohei Ohtani wants his former interpreter to hand over hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of baseball cards he says were fraudulently bought using his money. The Los Angeles Dodgers star is also requesting Ippei Mizuhara, who previously pleaded guilty to bank and tax fraud for stealing nearly US$17 million from the unsuspecting athlete, return signed collectible baseball cards depicting Ohtani that were in Mizuhara’s “unauthorized and wrongful possession,” court documents filed on Tuesday said. The legal filing alleges Mizuhara accessed Ohtani’s bank account beginning in about November 2021, changing his security protocols so that he
US skier Mikaela Shiffrin said she sustained an abrasion on her left hip and that something “stabbed” her when she crashed during her second run of an Audi FIS Ski World Cup giant slalom race on Saturday, doing a flip and sliding into the protective fencing. Shiffrin stayed down on the edge of the course for quite some time as the ski patrol attended to her. She was taken off the hill on a sled and waved to the cheering crowd before going to a clinic for evaluation. “Not really too much cause for concern at this point, I just
CLASH OF MANAGERS: Brighton’s Fabian Hurzeler and Russell Martin of Southampton accused each other of disrespect, while both were booked Southampton on Friday were denied a priceless victory by a controversial decision as they drew with hosts Brighton & Hove Albion 1-1 in the Premier League. Kaoru Mitoma spectacularly headed Brighton into a first-half lead and Flynn Downes hammered home an equalizer an hour in. Minutes later teammate Cameron Archer converted a cross from Saints substitute Ryan Fraser. A video assistant referee check of more than four minutes eventually decided that Archer was onside, but then penalized Adam Armstrong, who was offside, but did not touch the ball, for interfering with goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen. “I find it hard to accept,” Southampton manager Russell Martin
Mary McGee, a female racing pioneer and subject profiled in an Oscar-contending documentary, Motorcycle Mary, has died, her family said. She was 87. “McGee’s unparalleled achievements in off-road racing and motorcycle racing have inspired generations of athletes that followed in her footsteps,” her family said in a statement. The family said McGee died of complications from a stroke at her home in Gardnerville, Nevada, on Wednesday, the day before the release of the short documentary Motorcycle Mary, on ESPN’s YouTube channel. Seven-time Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton was an executive producer on the film, which became available globally on Thursday. Its premiere
RSS