Moya Tops Ferrero, Belgian Meeting Approaching at WTA Warsaw

Orchestrating upsets Thursday were Dutchman Raemon Sluiter (d. defending champ (2) Davydenko in three sets), Finnish qualifier Jarkko Nieminen (d. (3) Ancic), Aussie Wayne Arthurs (d. (6) Andreev 7-6 in the third), and Argentine Juan Monaco (d. (7) Srichaphan in three).

No. 5 seed Andrei Pavel escaped the upset with an uneven 6-1, 1-6, 6-1 win over Dutchman Sjeng Schalken, while unseeded Slovak qualifier Michel Mertinak (d. Mello, bagel in the second) also advanced.

On tap for the Friday quarterfinals in Munich are (5) Pavel vs. "Everybody Loves" Raemon Sluiter, Wayne "The Serving Machine" Arthurs vs. (4) Haas, (1) Nalbandian vs. Juan "The Principality" Monaco, and an all-qualifier match-up in Nieminen vs. Mertinak.

Moya Stops Ferrero Run at ATP Estoril

Carlos Moya rebounded from blowing three match points in the second set Thursday to outlast Juan Carlos Ferrero 7-5, 6-7(4), 6-4 in an almost-three-hour battle of former No. 1s and Roland Garros champions.

"I'm feeling better and better every week," said Moya, showing his first sign of being a force at Roland Garros in May. "When I came here I didn't know where my game was, but I've had two good wins against two good players, so I'm feeling confident again. I'm very motivated and think I have chances to win tournaments again."

Ferrero broke early in the opening set, but Moya broke back immediately then broke with The Mosquito serving at 5-6. Both players traded early breaks again in the second set, with Ferrero saving a match point serving 4-5, and two serving at 5-6 before taking the tiebreak to force a third.

Ferrero appeared to run out of gas in the third set, with Moya doing his best to move his unseeded countryman around the court with the dreaded Spanish Dropshot.

"Today I felt confident with my forehand, so I was able to use the drop shot a lot today and bring him into the net more than he's used to," Moya said. "I think I had a high percentage of points won when I used the drop shot today."

Not accustomed to reaching the latter rounds of tournaments after a horrid 2004 season that stretched into 2005, Ferrero appeared spent after coming off a semifinal effort at the Masters Series-Monte Carlo.

"In the third, I was so tired physically and it was very difficult for me to get to the ball," Ferrero said. "He was more fresh than me, maybe because he hasn't played that many matches in the last two weeks."

Other winners into the quarterfinals Thursday were (4) Tommy Robredo (d. Spanish countryman Ventura, bagel in the second), Italy's David Sanguinetti (d. Costa from a set down), and Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu (d. (Q) Cakl 1-and-1).

Friday's quarterfinal match-ups in Estoril are (8) Feliciano "F-Lo" Lopez vs. (2) Gaudio, (1) Moya vs. Mathieu, (4) Robredo vs. Sanguinetti, and (LL) Marin vs. Guillermo "G-Lo" Garcia-Lopez.

Henin Joins Clijsters, Kuznetsova in WTA Warsaw Quarters

Former No. 1 Justine Henin-Hardenne put down a test from unseeded Venezuelan Maria Vento-Kabchi in the midst of heavy claycourt conditions Thursday at the WTA stop in Warsaw, posting a 6-3, 7-5 win to advance into the quarterfinals.

"It was very tough conditions," said Henin-Hardenne, who found herself a break down in the second set. "It was very difficult to hit the ball hard and be aggressive. It was very slow and was raining just a little bit, and it's not easy to play in these conditions. I'm happy I won in two sets."

Other seeded winners into the quarters Thursday were (4) Patty Schnyder (d. (Q) Vakulenko) and (6) Nathalie Dechy (d. local (WC) Domachowska).

Serb pin-up teen Ana Ivanovic continued her unprecedented run with a straight-set win over (3) Vera Zvonareva to collect a Top 10 scalp.

"I just tried to play my game, to attack her and get a little bit into court and get her on the move, and I think I did that pretty well," said Ivanovic, who had another Top 10 win over Svetlana Kuznetsova in March at Miami. "It's taken a lot of work. I've practiced very hard the last few months, and I'm pretty happy to see the results so fast."

Friday's quarterfinal match-ups are Farina Elia vs. Kuznetsova, Ivanovic vs. Dechy, Clijsters vs. Bovina, and Schnyder vs. Henin-Hardenne.

Safina Rolls Into Quarters at WTA Estoril

No. 2 seed Dinara Safina rolled over Ukraine lucky loser Katerina Bondarenko 6-2, 6-2 to advance to the quarterfinals Thursday at the WTA stop in Estoril.

Marat's little sis was joined in the quarters by a handful of unseeded players Thursday in American Jill Craybas (d. Cervanova), Argentine Mariana Diaz-Oliva (d. (Q) Savchuk), and Czech qualifier Lucie Safarova (d. Krajicek, who blew four match points).

Scheduled for the Estoril quarterfinals Friday are Dulko vs. Zheng, Craybas vs. Safina, Randriantefy vs. Li, and Diaz-Oliva vs. Safarova.

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