Oct 2, 2008 - 7:32 AM
0 shoutsTOKYO (Ticker) -- Andy Roddick struggled during his opening match at the Japan Open. Things were much easier in the third round on Thursday.
The second-seeded American claimed a 7-6 (7-2), 6-2 victory against No. 14 seed Jurgen Melzer of Austria to advance to the quarterfinals at this $869,000 hardcourt event.
Roddick was taken to the limit by Ivo Minar of the Czech Republic on Wednesday, but managed to come away with a 7-6 (13-11), 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (7-2) in the second round.
The world No. 8, Roddick won his 26th career title on Sunday at the China Open and, despite receiving an opening-round bye here, the volume of matches appeared to catch up with him as Minar kept things interesting during their 2 hour, 43-minute encounter.
Melzer briefly duplicated Minar's performance by forcing a tiebreaker in the first set. But, Roddick outlasted the world No. 38 to take the opening set and won two of three break points in the second set to earn the win in 68 minutes.
Roddick next will meet Serbia's Viktor Troicki, who lost the first set to seventh-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in their third-round match but was winning the second, 2-1, when the Frenchman retired with an abdominal strain.
Top-seeded David Ferrer rallied for a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory over Japan's Takao Suzuki in their third-round match.
The fifth-ranked Spaniard has endured a rough stretch of late, failing to advance past the third round in his previous five tournaments.
It appeared as though a similar fate was in store for the defending champion here after Suzuki fired four aces and won each of two break points in the opening set.
Ferrer rallied in the second set, overcoming five more aces by Suzuki to even the match. He cruised through the final set to take the match in 1 hour, 56 minutes and advance to the quarters for the first time since Bastad in early July.
Ferrer advanced to take on fifth seed Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina, who earned a carefree 6-1, 6-3 win over 11th-seeded Jarkko Nieminen of Finland.
Czech Tomas Berdych, the No. 9 seed, booked his spot in the final eight by posting a 7-6 (8-6), 6-2 mild upset of sixth-seeded Tommy Robredo of Spain.
Berdych fired 10 aces during the match to take a 3-2 lead in his lifetime series against Robredo. The win set up a meeting with third-seeded Fernando Gonzalez of Chile, who scored a 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) decision against American Amer Delic during their third-round match.
Fourth seed Richard Gasquet of France had no trouble advancing, cruising to a 6-1, 6-2 victory over local favorite Kei Nishikori. Gasquet advanced to face 12th-seeded German Rainer Schuettler - a 6-3, 6-7 (12-14), 6-4 winner against No. 8 seed Mikhail Youzhny of Russia.
First prize is $135,000.
