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Zverev stuns top gun Simon in Stuttgart

Source: Agencies | July 18, 2009, Saturday | Print Edition

GERMAN Misha Zverev cruised past top seed and world No. 7 Gilles Simon 6-4, 6-2 to advance to the quarterfinals of the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart on Thursday.

Simon, still in search of his first tournament win of the season, had no answer to the left-hander's versatile game on Stuttgart's clay.

Zverev, who had also beaten the Frenchman in Rome earlier this year in their only previous encounter, broke Simon in the third game before serving out the first set.

Using drop shots and backhand slices to stretch Simon, Zverev, son of former Soviet Davis Cup player Alexander, broke twice in the second set as his opponent struggled to find consistency with his groundstrokes.

"It was an almost identical match as in Rome. I know how he plays and I tried to play slowly and force him to attack," Zverev said. "He made some easy mistakes. Everything worked perfectly today."

The 21-year-old next faces another Frenchman Jeremy Chardy.

Simon became the second seeded player to tumble on Thursday after fifth-seed Philipp Kohlschreiber slumped to a surprise 2-6, 4-6 defeat against Polish qualifier Lukasz Kubot.

The 127th-ranked Pole grabbed a break in the first game and added another in the seventh to clinch the first set before breaking the world No. 26 again early in the second to serve out the match after 70 minutes.

Second seed, Russian Nikolay Davydenko, the world No. 11, had little trouble against German Michael Berrer, ranked 109 places lower, sweeping past him 6-3, 6-3 in just 66 minutes.

He will now meet 22-year-old Italian Fabio Fognini who advanced after France's Paul-Henri Mathieu, trailing 4-6, 1-4, retired.

In Prague, the Czech Republic, third-seeded Iveta Benesova beat Monica Niculescu of Romania 7-5, 6-4 on Thursday to advance to the quarterfinals of the Prague Open.

Czech Benesova will next face Zarina Diyas of Kazakhstan, who upset another Czech, eighth-seeded Petra Kvitova 6-4, 6-2. The 15-year-old Diyas, who is ranked 295th, reached her first quarterfinal at a WTA Tour event. Timea Bacsinszky of Switzerland beat compatriot Stefanie Voegele 6-4, 6-1.

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