Roddick Del Potro Reach QFs, Fish Upset

Ron AngleJuan Martin del Potro

Top seed Andy Roddick cruised to a 6-2, 6-3 victory over countryman Robby Ginepri on Thursday night in Memphis to advance to the quarter-finals of the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships, an ATP World Tour 500 tennis tournament.

Despite losing serve once, the 26-year-old American dominated the 61-minute match, firing 11 aces and winning 77 per cent of service points. He converted four of 12 break points and Ginepri only won 49 per cent of his service points. Roddick is 9-1 lifetime against Ginepri.

"I feel like I'm in a pretty good groove serving right now," said Roddick. "I feel comfortable. The percentages seem like they're there, so that certainly gives you a decent opportunity when you serve well."

In the first set, Roddick broke in the sixth and eighth games to wrap up the set in 27 minutes. In the second set, Roddick was broken in the fifth game but then broke right back. He broke Ginepri again in the eighth game and then served out the match.
 
Roddick is 25-6 lifetime in Memphis and he's reached the quarter-finals or better eight of nine times. The Austin, Texas resident improved to 14-3 on the season and he will make his fourth quarter-final (or better) appearance in 2009 against No. 8 seed Sam Querrey. Roddick defeated his countryman in their only previous meeting two years ago in San Jose.

Querrey eased through his second round match against Cypriot wild card Marcos Baghdatis in just 52 minutes, breaking his opponent four times en route to the 6-1, 6-2 victory. The 21-year-old Californian, a quarter-finalist last week in San Jose (l. to Blake), is through to the Memphis quarter-finals for the second time.

No. 2 seed Juan Martin del Potro (pictured) advanced to the quarter-finals with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Latvian Ernests Gulbis. The 20-year-old Argentine defeated Gulbis for the second time this year (Auckland), converting five of eight break points while losing his serve twice.

The top South American on the ATP World Tour lifted his match record to 12-2 on the season and he will next face No. 5 seed Radek Stepanek. The Czech Republic native continued his solid form with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Austrian Stefan Koubek in the second round.

"He's playing very good and he has a lot of confidence but I think I could beat him if I play my game," said del Potro, who will meet Stepanek for the first time.
 
The 30-year-old Czech Republic native improved his season record to 14-2 with his seventh straight match win. The two-time ATP World Tour singles winner this year is coming off a title at the SAP Open in San Jose.

Stepanek jumped out to a 2-1 lead in the first set but was broken back in the next game. He then broke the Austrian in the fifth and seventh games to close out the 30-minute set. In the second set, Stepanek accounted for the only break in the fifth game and he lost only three points in his final three service games.
 
Stepanek last year advanced to the semi-finals in his Memphis debut. He saved five of six break points in the match, all coming in the first set, while converting four of six break point chances. He won 87 per cent of first serve points compared to Koubek's 59 per cent.

Aussie Lleyton Hewitt marched into the quarter-finals with a 6-2, 7-6(4) victory over countryman Chris Guccione. Hewitt, who fired 10 aces and converted two of four break points, will be making his second appearance in an ATP World Tour quarter-final this season. Last month he lost to eventual champion David Nalbandian in the quarters in Sydney.

The 27-year-old Hewitt won all 16 service points in the first set and extended his streak to 21 straight points in his second service game of the second set. He only lost eight points in 10 service games and never faced a break point. Hewitt broke in the first and seventh games of the opening set and went up a mini-break in the first point of the tie-break, which proved to be the difference.

"I knew it was going to be a tough match and a real battle," said Hewitt. "We know each other's game very well since we've practised a lot in Davis Cup and at tournaments. I got off to a good start and played well the rest of the way."
 
In the quarter-finals, Hewitt will take on Christophe Rochus, who surprised No. 7 seed Mardy Fish 6-2, 6-4, to reach his first ATP World Tour quarter-final since Amersfoort last July. Rochus broke in the first and fifth games of the opening set and after going up a double break 3-0 in the second set, he lost serve the only time in the fourth game.
 
The 30-year-old Belgian No. 2 converted four of 13 break points and saved three of four break points on his serve in the 63-minute match. Fish, who hit 14 aces, only connected on 44 per cent of first serves.
 
"I have the game to beat him and I knew if he wasn't serving well I had a chance," said Rochus. "Returning is the best part of my game and he didn't serve too good."
 
Russian Igor Kunitsyn, who entered Memphis with an 0-4 mark this season, came back to beat German Philipp Petzschner 3-6, 6-4, 6-4. Kunitsyn will face qualifier Dudi Sela, who edged out Frenchman Florent Serra 7-6 (4), 7-6(4) in one hour and 43 minutes.
 
Sela is the first Israeli to reach the quarter-finals in Memphis since Amos Mansdorf advanced to the semi-finals in 1993. This is Sela's first quarter-final showing since reaching his first ATP World Tour final in Beijing (l. to Roddick) last September.