Wed Apr 16 13:47:46 2008

Comment | Email | Print

Davydenko sneaks into Estoril QFs

---

Estoril, Portugal (Sports Network) - Recent Miami champion Nikolay Davydenko highlighted Wednesday's second-round victors at the $585,000 Estoril Open.

The second-seeded Davydenko dropped the first set against Czech Ivo Minar before charging back for a 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 decision on the red clay at Estadio Nacional. The gritty Russian star titled in Estoril in 2003 and was the runner-up here in 2006.

The world No. 4 Davydenko is currently riding a nine-match overall winning streak, including his title at the so-called "Fifth Major" in Miami two weeks ago.

Davydenko's quarterfinal opponent on Friday will be seventh-seeded Frenchman Marc Gicquel.

In other Day-3 second-round play involving seeds, Gicquel handled fellow Frenchman Thierry Ascione 7-6 (7-5), 6-1, while Italian Flavio Cipolla upended No. 5 Frenchman Gilles Simon 6-2, 5-3, as Simon retired due to a back injury.

One other second-rounder saw France's Florent Serra subdue Portuguese wild card Rui Machado 7-6 (7-5), 6-1. Serra will meet the upstart Cipolla in the round of eight.

On Thursday, top-seeded Roger Federer will play his second-round match against Romanian Victor Hanescu. The 12-time Grand Slam champion Federer is still seeking his first trip to a final this year.

The 2008 Estoril champion will claim $93,600.