MOSCOW, 3 October 2003 — American Taylor Dent outlasted Olivier Rochus of Belgium 6-4, 2-6, 6-4, while Russia’s Anastasia Myskina breezed past Magui Serna of Spain 6-3, 6-1 yesterday to move to the quarterfinals of the $2.3 million Kremlin Cup.
Fourth-seeded Myskina, inspired by her recent upsets of Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin-Hardenne en route to the Sparkassen Cup last weekend, had little trouble against Serna in women’s play. She needed two breaks to win the first set and jumped to a 5-0 lead in the second one to seal the victory in 54 minutes.
Myskina, world No. 10, is looking for her fourth title this year. She reached the semifinals here in 2001, loosing to her countrywoman and Fed Cup teammate Elena Dementieva.
Third-seeded Dementieva, currently world No. 8, also gained a quarterfinal spot yesterday, eliminating qualifier Jelena Kostanic of Croatia 6-2, 6-3.
In the men’s action, Dent, fresh from beating world No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain to capture the inaugural Thailand Open on Sunday, has extended his winning streak to seven matches. On Tuesday, he marked his Kremlin Cup debut with upset of third-seeded Felix Mantilla of Spain in straight sets in just 46 minutes.
Dent opened strongly and broke the Belgian in the seventh game to go up 5-3 in the first set. He fired eight aces and had five service winners to win the set.
But in the second set, Rochus put his feet back on the ground and found the way to challenge Dent’s serve-and-volley game.
He trapped the American with passing crosscourt shots to break him in the second game and jump to a commanding 5-2 lead in the set. A backhand down the line the eighth game earned him two break points. Dent double faulted, forcing the third set.
Dent broke Rochus in the third game of the decisive set to take an early lead and never looked back, closing his next two service games at love and firing three more aces. Dent is looking for his third title this season. He beat countryman Andy Roddick in February to take the St. Jude Classic final in Memphis.
Sargis Sargsian of Armenia upset eight-seeded Russian veteran and five-time champion here Yevgeny Kafelnikov 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.
“Obviously, he is a tough guy to beat on any occasion. He’s clearly not playing best tennis, but to beat him in front of the home crowd on this court where he’s won so many times is something special, for sure,” Sargsian said.
In the quarterfinals, he will face second-seeded Agustin Calleri of Argentina, who struggled past Georgia’s Irakli Labadze 6-4, 3-6, 6-1.
Schuettler in Clinical
Form at Japan Open
In Tokyo, top seed Rainer Schuettler cruised into the quarterfinals of the $860,000 Japan Open with a clinical 6-3, 6-2 victory over American Robert Kendrick yesterday.
The German was too sharp with his returns and too quick around the court for Kendrick in a one-sided match.
He finally put his error-prone opponent out of his misery with a well-placed overhead smash after just 64 minutes.
Schuettler, sixth in the ATP Champions Race and aiming for a spot in the season-ending Tennis Masters Cup for the first time, will play Scott Draper next after the Australian upset German sixth seed Nicolas Kiefer 7-5, 6-2.
“Every point is important for me because if the other players play well they can kick me out of the Masters Cup,” said Australian Open runner-up Schuettler.
“When I was growing up I always watched the Masters Cup on TV as a kid and I definitely want to be part of it this year.”
Third-seeded Paradorn Srichaphan, still with an outside chance of qualifying for the prestigious eight-man tournament in Houston from Nov. 8-16, beat Japanese wildcard Takao Suzuki 6-2, 7-6 to reach the last eight in Tokyo.
The 24-year-old Thai plays South Korean Lee Hyung-taik in the quarterfinals on Friday after the seventh seed overpowered defending champion Kenneth Carlsen of Denmark 6-3, 6-4.
Fifth seed Mark Philippoussis pummeled Croatian Mario Ancic 6-4, 7-5 under floodlights to reach the last eight.
The big-serving Australian has launched a late bid to qualify for Houston after breaking a two-year title drought with victory in Shanghai last weekend.
“Obviously (the Masters Cup) is a goal but to be honest it’s not my main focus,” said the Wimbledon runner-up, whose career has been plagued by injuries.
“For the first time in four years I feel fresh...not stressed-out. I’m still hungry and if I keep winning matches and tournaments that’s going to come.”
Philippoussis, will play Frenchman Cyril Saulnier next in a repeat of their second-round meeting at Wimbledon, won in straight sets by the Australian.
Meanwhile, second-seeded Frenchman Sebastien Grosjean beat Dutchman Dennis van Scheppingen 6-3, 7-6 to set up a quarterfinal against American Jan-Michael Gambill. Among the women, Japanese top seed Ai Sugiyama bowed out with a finger injury while trailing 6-4, 3-2 to Hungarian Aniko Kapros in their quarterfinal.
Spaniard Arantxa Parra continued her dream run on her Japan Open debut, setting up a semi-final against Kapros with a 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 win over defending champion Jill Craybas.
