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Haas beats Blake

PHOTO: AFP

Tommy Haas.

PARIS: Germany's Tommy Haas delivered a potential fatal blow to James Blake's Masters Cup dreams and gave his own slim chances of a surprise trip to China a welcome boost here on Thursday.

Haas, the 10th seeded German, moved into the quarterfinals of the Paris Masters with an impressive 6-4, 6-2 demolition of his seventh seeded American opponent.

The result left Blake sweating on his chances of filling one of the three remaining places in the eight-man Shanghai field, with rivals Tommy Robredo of Spain and Mario Ancic of Croatia poised to overtake him if they make progress here.

Meanwhile, defending champion Tomas Berdych and Nikolay Davydenko, the highest ranked player in the tournament, also made quick work of their third round opponents.

Berdych, the eighth-seeded Czech, cruised past America's Robby Ginepri 6-3, 6-3 in just 65 minutes while Davydenko, the Russian fourth seed, took just six minutes longer to reach the last eight with a 6-2, 6-2 win over compatriot Dimitry Tursunov.

Nice feeling

``It's a nice feeling that I'm still unbeaten here. I have to use that to my advantage for the next match,'' said the Czech who will face either Britain's Andy Murray or Dominik Hrbaty of Slovakia.

Davydenko's impressive win should also have guaranteed him a place in the Russian squad for the Davis Cup final.

He had been edged out of the singles line-up by the America-based Tursunov in the semifinal victory over the United States.

But his run to a second consecutive last eight place here should see him line up alongside Marat Safin for this year's final against Argentina in Moscow in December.

Local favourite Julien Benneteau thrilled the home fans by knocking out World No. 8 Fernando Gonzalez 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 here on Wednesday. Gonzalez's second round defeat ended his chances of qualifying for the year-end Masters Cup in Shanghai.

The sixth-seeded Tommy Robredo of Spain, also bidding for a spot in the Shanghai tournament, defeated Frenchman Sebastien Grosjean 3-6, 7-5, 6-4. Grosjean, the 2001 champion, led 5-2 in the second set and twice served for the match before bowing out.

Gonzalez had his chances against Benneteau. The fifth-seeded Chilean led 3-0 in the third set, with two breaks of serve, before his opponent staged a comeback.

The results:

At Paris (ATP BNP Paribas Paris Masters): Third round: Nikolay Davydenko bt Dmitry Tursunov 6-2, 6-2; Tomas Berdych bt Robby Ginepri 6-3, 6-3; Tommy Haas bt James Blake 6-4, 6-2. Second round: Paul-Henri Mathieu bt Novak Djokovic 7-6(11), 7-6(4); James Blake bt Arnaud Clement 6-4, 3-6, 6-4; Teimuraz Gabashvili bt Thomas Johansson 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-3; Tommy Robredo bt Sebastien Grosjean 3-6, 7-5, 6-4; Mario Ancic bt Kristof Vliegen 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-3; Dominik Hrbaty bt Igor Andreev 6-4, 6-3; Julien Benneteau bt Fernando Gonzalez 3-6, 6-4, 7-5; Andy Murray bt Juan Ignacio Chela 7-5, 6-0; Richard Gasquet bt Stanislas Wawrinka 7-5, 6-1.

At Quebec City (WTA Bell Challenge): Second round: Shenay Perry bt Abigail Spears 6-1, 7-5; Marion Bartoli bt Laura Granville 6-4, 6-3; Martina Sucha bt Sybille Bammer 7-5, 6-4. First round: Severine Bremond bt Jill Craybas 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.

At Hasselt (Belgium) (WTA Gaz de France Stars): Second round: Vera Zvonareva bt Kirsten Flipkens 6-3, 6-4; Aravane Rezai bt Karolina Sprem 5-7, 7-6(7), 6-1. First round: Caroline Maes bt Yuliana Fedak 3-6, 6-2, 7-5; Kim Clijsters bt Anne Kremer 6-3, 6-2; Michaela Krajicek bt Mara Santangelo 5-2, retd.; Martina Muller bt Kateryna Bondarenko 2-6, 6-4, 6-4; Samantha Stosur bt Olga Savchuk 6-4, 6-1. — Agencies

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