Roddick on fire as Fish flounders with Indy injury

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana: Andy Roddick advanced to the quarter-finals of the Indianapolis tennis championships on Wednesday while boyhood friend Mardy Fish bowed out after one set with a knee injury.

Top seed Roddick, bidding to lift a third title in five attempts at the US Open tune-up, rolled Russian Evgeny Korolev 6-3, 6-2.

"I hit the ball cleanly," said Roddick, ranked fifth in the world. "My serve was off, but I had a rock-solid return game.

"My serve will come around. I'll take good matches when I can get them and this was a good match."

It was hard luck for the injured Fish, suffering badly in recent days with tendinitis in both knees.

After calling for the trainer following the opening set, he packed it in one point into the second.

Russian Igor Kunitsyn took the quick victory, taking the first set 6-4 over the fourth seed.

"It just happened after the first serve of the second set. I couldn't put pressure on my leg," said Fish, who is due to have a scan on Thursday.

"It's a little frustrating because I have worked really hard. I haven't had any really great results the last few months and I was trying to turn it around.

"I feel like I've been playing well."

Kunitsyn will play on Friday in a quarter-final against the 109th-ranked Frank Dancevic.

The Canadian worked a comeback miracle, fighting past Argentina's Juan del Potro 3-6, 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 to reach his first ATP quarter-final.

Dancevic had never before strung together two wins in a row at the ATP level.

"I'm so excited to be in my first quarter-final," Dancevic said. "I don't know how I won. He served and returned well the whole match."

Dancevic became the first man from his hockey-loving homeland to reach the last eight in an ATP tournament since Sebastien Lareau in 2001 at Memphis.

South Korean sixth seed Lee Hyung-taik also advanced with a second-round triumph, eliminating American Paul Goldstein 6-3, 6-3.

Lee will next face Roddick, who has won eight of their nine meetings.

Dancevic drove more than 800 kilometers from his home in Niagara Falls to reach the event on short notice after receiving a late entry.

Dancevic fired 17 aces in a two-hour, 10-minute victory against Del Potro, an 18-year-old South American ranked 56th. Del Potro saved two match points in the ninth game of the final set before Dancevic won with an ace in the next game.

"I was the last guy into the tournament field and I was behind this whole match," said Dancevic. "I was even down 5-2 in the second-set tiebreaker, but I kept hanging in and he gave me a small opening.

"I just tried to stick it to him. I tried to take my opportunities."

AFP

(China Daily 07/27/2007 page24)