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Kuznetsova upset but Djokovic wins

BELARUSSIAN teenager Victoria Azarenka, chasing her fourth WTA Tour title of the year, dismissed Peng Shuai of China 6-4, 6-1 in the second round of the Madrid Open yesterday.

The 19-year-old seventh seed, who has won in Brisbane, Memphis and Miami, claimed six breaks on Peng's serve and will play Hungarian Agnes Szavay today for a place in the quarterfinals.

Russian sixth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova failed in her bid for a third straight final appearance when she was upset 3-6, 2-6 by Alona Bondarenko, her third loss on clay to the unseeded Ukrainian in three previous meetings.

Russian qualifier Vera Dushevina became the first player through to the last eight when she won her third-round match against Italy's Francesca Schiavone 6-3, 4-6, 6-2.

World No. 1 Dinara Safina, who had a bye into the second round, was playing China's Li Na later in the day and Safina's Russian compatriot and the No. 3 seed Elena Dementieva takes on former No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo of France.

American sisters, Serena and Venus Williams, the second and fifth seeds, are both already out of the tournament.

Serena was forced to retire from her first-round match against Schiavone on Monday with a knee injury and Venus lost to Russian teenager Alisa Kleybanova 3-6, 6-3, 5-7 in the second round on Tuesday.

In the men's draw, world No. 4 Novak Djokovic beat Oscar Hernandez 6-3, 6-3 in the second round yesterday to stay on course for his fifth successive final.

The Serbian third seed, who won his second title of the year in his native Belgrade at the weekend after losing in the final of the Masters events in Rome, Monte Carlo and Miami, did not face a single break point against the Spanish wildcard.

He took a nasty tumble at the start of the second set, slipping on the clay in the new Magic Box stadium and falling awkwardly, but recovered to break in the fifth and ninth games and wrapped up the win on his fourth match point when Hernandez went long with a sliced backhand.

Djokovic will play Andreas Seppi for a place in the last eight after the Italian beat American Sam Querrey 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.

Fifth seed Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina also went through when Czech Tomas Berdych, who won his first title of the year at the BMW Open in Munich on Sunday, retired from their second round match with a problem to his left leg after trailing 2-6, 1-4.

French No. 8 seed Gilles Simon, who lost to Briton Andy Murray in the final of the Madrid Masters last October when it was still an indoor hardcourt event, beat Italian qualifier Fabio Fognini 6-3, 6-2.

Swiss 11th seed Stanislas Wawrinka beat Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 6-4, 7-5.

World No. 1 Rafael Nadal of Spain begins his quest for a sixth title of the year, and fourth on clay, against Austrian Juergen Melzer later and sixth seeded American Andy Roddick plays German qualifier Tommy Haas.




 

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