Andy Roddick and Juan Martin del Potro boosted their chances of qualifying for next month’s Masters Cup by winning their second-round matches in straight sets at the Paris Masters on Tuesday.
Third-seeded Novak Djokovic was leading 6-2, 4-3 against Dmitry Tursunov when the Russian retired with an injured right shoulder, seventh-seeded Roddick beat Feliciano Lopez of Spain 6-3, 6-4, and ninth-seeded del Potro defeated Mario Ancic of Croatia 6-0, 6-4.
Also, 15th-seeded Fernando Verdasco outlasted Spanish countryman Tommy Robredo 6-2, 6-7 (6), 6-2, and 16th-seeded Gael Monfils topped Juan Monaco of Argentina 6-4, 6-4 to set up a possible match against top-ranked Rafael Nadal.
PHOTO: AP
Tursunov retired against Djokovic after twice needing treatment on his shoulder. Djokovic, the Australian Open champion, hasn’t won a title since his third of the year at the Rome Masters in May.
“Still trying to find my top form. Lately I’ve been struggling on the court,” Djokovic said. “But still, I’m fighting. I know that I have to fight for every point and just find my best shape.”
Djokovic has never beyond the third round at the Paris Masters and next plays either No. 13 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga or 2004 runner-up Radek Stepanek in the third round.
PHOTO: AP
“This time I’m motivated to do well and I have nothing to lose,” Djokovic said.
Roddick has reached the Paris semi-finals twice in his last three appearances.
He and del Potro are chasing the last three spots for the season-ending, eight-man Masters Cup in Shanghai. Roddick was sixth in the standings and del Potro seventh heading into this week’s tournament at Bercy Indoor Arena.
Roddick refused to think ahead to Shanghai.
“I’m not going to talk about going to a tournament that I’m not even in yet,” he said. “I think that’s a little bit cocky, maybe a little bit arrogant to assume that you’re going to make something.”
Del Potro, who unlike Roddick has never qualified, said: “I’m trying not to think about it. I always wake up thinking about Shanghai.”
Del Potro next faces eighth-seeded David Nalbandian of Argentina or Nicolas Kiefer of Germany. If Nalbandian, it will be their third match in three weeks, with a win apiece.
“I’m playing more aggressive now, I’m serving very well,” del Potro said.
Del Potro, Roddick and Gilles Simon are looking to gain enough points to hold their places in the top eight for Shanghai. Simon, in the eighth spot, was to play Igor Andreev in the second round yesterday. If he wins, Simon will face Roddick in the third round.
“He’s definitely improved,” Roddick said of Simon. “To kind of have his career-best year and to make a run late in the year, he’s been winning a lot of close matches, which shows his confidence level.”
Monfils, meanwhile, was celebrating his first appearance in the Paris Masters third round.
“I wanted to do so well. Juan is a very good player, and he beat me twice already,” Monfils said. “Thanks to my serve I was able to be more confident.”
In first-round action, new Lyon Grand Prix champion Robin Soderling won his sixth straight match against Josselin Ouanna of France 6-3, 6-4 to set up an eighth career meeting with Roger Federer.
Soderling was 0-7 against Federer, who won his 57th career title at the Swiss Indoors on Sunday.
Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber beat Russia’s Mikhail Youzhny 6-1, 6-4; 2005 runner-up Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia beat Viktor Troicki of Serbia 6-3, 6-4, Stepanek of the Czech Republic downed Marc Gicquel of France 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 and Florent Serra beat Guillermo Canas of Argentina 4-6, 7-5, 6-3. Serra will meet Nadal next.
Ljubicic will play 2006 champion Nikolay Davydenko of Russia.
Kohlschreiber had to save eight break points, and next plays fifth-seeded David Ferrer of Spain.
Ferrer is just behind Simon in the race for Masters berths, with James Blake, Stanislas Wawrinka and Australian Open finalist Tsonga all hoping a good showing will help them qualify.
■ BELL CHALLENGE
AP, QUEBEC CITY, CANADA
Top-seeded Nadia Petrova breezed past Maria Mokh 6-1, 6-2 on Tuesday in the Bell Challenge.
Petrova will face Varvara Lepchenko in the second round.
Lepchenko beat Rossana De Los Rios 6-1, 6-3.
Fourth-seeded Tamarine Tanasugarn of Thailand fell to Frenchwoman Severine Bremond 6-2, 7-6. Bremond will face the winner of the Angela Haynes-Stephanie Dubois match.
Fifth-seeded Aleksandra Wozniak beat Edina Gallovits 6-4, 6-3 and will next play Carly Gullickson, who beat Romania’s Ioana Raluca Olaru 7-6, 6-1.
In other first-round matches: No. 7 Olga Govortsova beat Vania King 6-1, 2-6, 6-4, Galina Voskoboeva upset No. 8 Sofia Arvidsson 6-3 6-2, Melinda Czink defeated No. 9 Sabine Lisicki of Germany 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 and Nathalie Dechy dumped Anna-Lena Groenefeld 6-3, 6-1.
■ DAVIS CUP
AP, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
Roger Federer ended speculation over his Davis Cup plans and said on Tuesday he will play for Switzerland against the US next March.
It will be the first time in five years that the 13-time Grand Slam singles winner has broken up his early season schedule for the Davis Cup.
“I am excited to once again join my fellow Swiss teammates, who I have a great friendship with,” Federer said on his Web site. “I look forward to what I am sure will be a tough weekend.”
The World Group first-round tie will be played on March 6 and March 8 in the US at a venue to be chosen by the US Tennis Association in the next six weeks.
Switzerland and the US have a 1-1 record in Davis Cup meetings.
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