Roddick cuts down Evans to reach quarterfinals in China
BEIJING (AP) — Andy Roddick overcame a Davis Cup loss and jet lag to reach the quarterfinals of the China Open, while David Ferrer wasn't as fortunate.
Despite falling behind early, the second-seeded Roddick defeated fellow American Brendan Evans 6-4, 6-3 on Thursday.
Top-seeded Ferrer was never in the second-round match, falling 6-3, 6-3 to Dudi Sela of Israel, who is No. 92 in the rankings — 87 spots behind the Spaniard.
Roddick and Ferrer had byes in the first round and extra days off following Spain's emotional Davis Cup semifinal victory over the United States last weekend in Madrid. Ferrer defeated Roddick in the five sets.
"From 4-2 down in the first set I started feeling a little better," Roddick said. "It's a little tough going from clay last weekend in Spain to dealing with the jet lag and what not."
American Sam Querrey, who also played in the Davis Cup, lost to Bjorn Phau 5-7, 6-3, 6-4. Defending champion Fernando Gonzalez rallied for a 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-1 win over Go Soeda, and fourth-seeded Richard Gasquet defeated Lu Yen-hsun 7-5, 6-1.
In women's play, second-seeded Ana Ivanovic defeated Alize Cornet 6-1, 7-6 (1) to reach the quarterfinals. Svetlana Kuznetsova advanced with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Alla Kudryavtseva.
Defending champion Agnes Szavay lost to Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-2, 6-2.
The China Open is a combined ATP and WTA event because of a hiatus during the Beijing Olympics.
Roddick, who was mentored by Andre Agassi, gave the younger Evans a few tips.
"I told him I thought he took his foot off the accelerator a little bit when he was up in the match," Roddick said. "And maybe he stopped being as aggressive as he was to get in the lead, and that allowed me to get a rhythm."
Roddick acknowledged the outdoor hard court in Beijing suits him better than the red clay in Spain.
"I'm able to do some more stuff on a quicker court, a hard court," he said. "Clay limits my game a little bit more."