No. 3 seed
Mario Ancic kept his slim hopes of a Shanghai bid alive following a 6-3, 6-4 win over Dutchman "Everybody Loves"
Raemon Sluiter in second-round play Thursday in St. Petersburg.
Ancic enjoyed nine aces and never faced a break point in the second set. He'll next plays Max "The Beast" Mirnyi, who beat
Andrei Pavel of Romania 6-3, 7-5.
Russian
Igor Kunitsyn stunned fourth seed
Tommy Haas 7-6(4), 4-6, 6-2, effectively ending the German's hopes of qualifying for the year-ending Tennis Masters Cup.
"It was a tough match. At some points, especially in the first set, I was playing good," Haas told the AP. "If I held my serve in the ninth game of the first set, I would have won the match."
Kunitsyn will face
Potito Starace of Italy in Friday's quarterfinals.
Also Thursday, Czech
Jan Hernych took care of Australian qualifier
Wayne Arthurs 6-4, 6-4.
