BERLIN, 18 May 2006 — World No. 5 Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia and former French Open champion Gaston Gaudio of Argentina were the biggest casualties in second-round matches at the Hamburg Masters yesterday.
Third seed Ljubicic, the highest seed left in the draw, was thrashed 6-2, 6-0 by Argentina’s Jose Acasuso while Gaudio, the number six seed, lost 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 to Frenchman Gilles Simon.
German Nicolas Kiefer, ranked nine for the tournament, was the only other seed to fall on the red clay at the Am Rothenbaum, disappointing the home fans on center court by losing 6-2, 6-2 to the towering Max Mirnyi of Belarus.
No. 4 seed Nikolay Davydenko of Russia strolled into the third round, beating Italy’s Andreas Seppi 6-1, 6-2 to set up a clash with Finland’s Jarkko Nieminen.
Gaudio, who won at Roland Garros in 2004, looked to be in a strong position at 3-0 up in the final set, but the 21-year-old Simon fought back and will play Mirnyi in the next round.
Ukrainian-born Davydenko, a semifinalist here and at the French Open in 2005, was forced to retire from his third-round match in Rome last week with a leg injury.
But he came through easily on Wednesday against the tall Italian Seppi and is on course to meet fifth-seeded American James Blake in the quarterfinals.
Blake saw off British teenager Andy Murray on Wednesday, winning 6-3, 6-3.
Clijsters Claims Struggling Win to Open Rome Campaign
Second seed Kim Clijsters kept her dream of returning to number one in the world alive yesterday as she rallied past Akiko Morigami 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 to open with a victory at the Rome Masters.
Clijsters, the 2003 titleholder at the Foro Italico during her golden season when she reached the top ranking twice for a total of 12 weeks, needs to win another trophy here again in order to top the table.
She has her opportunity, with No. 1 Frenchwoman Amelie Mauresmo pulling out at the weekend with illness. But the off-color Belgian was made to work by number 70 Morigami in the pair’s first meeting. It took three match points to clinch victory in one hour, 47 minutes.
She was evenly balanced on 31 winners and 34 unforced errors.
“It was my first time here for two years due to injuries, it’s been awhile,” said Clijsters.
Clijsters lines up in the third round against 16th seed Dinara Safina who beat Italy’s Maria Elena Camerin 6-4, 6-4.
No. 5 Elena Dementieva didn’t have to strike a ball in anger as China’s Shuai Peng withdrew injured before their second-round match, sending the Russian ahead.
Sixth-seeded Swiss Patty Schnyder dealt out Russian Vera Duchevina 7-6 (10-8), 6-2 while Russia’s Vera Zvonareva beat France’s Nathalie Dechy 6-2, 6-2.
Italo-Swiss Romina Oprandi, whose double lip piercing appears to be the only one on the WTA Tour, provided a victory for the hosts as she whipped Australian Samantha Stosur 6-2, 6-2.
Oprandi’s compatriot, Roberta Vinci, wasn’t so fortunate, losing to former Roland Garros champion Anastasia Myskina 6-0, 1-6, 6-4.
