SAN JOSE, California: Fernando Verdasco and Gael Monfils, seeded first and second respectively, swept into the second round of the SAP Open with straight sets victories Wednesday. Spain's Verdasco beat American Rajeev Ram 6-3, 6-2 in only an hour while Monfils recorded exactly the same scoreline in defeating another American, Bradley Klahn in a mismatch between players ranked 12th and 792nd in the world. Verdasco meets Croatia's Ivo Karlovic in the second round. Karlovic, who was a semifinalist here four years ago, topped American Ryan Sweeting 6-4, 6-4. In second-round matches, Lithuanian Richard Berankis beat American Donald Young 6-4, 5-7, 7-5 and Canada's Milos Raonic beat American James Blake 6-2, 7-6 (4). The 74th-ranked Berankis, who beat the eighth-seeded Benjamin Becker in the first round, meets Raonic, who recorded 13 aces in the win over Blake, in the quarterfinals. The 20-year-old Berankis reached his second career ATP quarterfinal. Monfils' second-round opponent will be American Robert Kendrick, who downed Russian Igor Kunitsyn 7-5, 3-6, 6-4. Baghdatis in quarterfinals In Rotterdam, Marcos Baghdatis beat Feliciano Lopez Lopez 7-6 (3), 6-3 Thursday to advance to a quarterfinal showdown with seventh-seeded Ivan Ljubicic. Baghdatis had a tougher time overcoming the 44th-ranked Lopez than he did dispatching Australian Open finalist Andy Murray 6-4, 6-1 the previous evening as the Scot battled a left wrist injury. Ljubicic downed French qualifier Benoit Paire 6-0, 6-4. In the afternoon's other second-round match, fourth-seeded Tomas Berdych beat Russian qualifier Dmitry Tursunov 6-4, 4-6, 7-5. On Wednesday, Andy Murray's first match since losing his third Grand Slam final ended in defeat when he was knocked out by unseeded Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis 6-4, 6-1. In second-round play, Austrian fifth seed Juergen Melzer was dispatched by big-serving Croatian Marin Cilic 6-2, 6-4. Dokic tops Petrova In Paris, Australian qualifier Jelena Dokic upset fifth-seeded Nadia Petrova of Russia 6-4, 7-6 (4) in the second round of the Open Gaz de France Thursday, setting up a quarterfinal against Australian Open champion Kim Clijsters. In other second-round matches, fourth-seeded Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic needed five match points to beat countrywoman Barbora Zahlavova Strycova 6-4, 6-7 (6), 7-6 (9). Kvitova next plays No. 7 Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium in the quarterfinals. Wickmayer beat Klara Zakopalova of the Czech Republic 6-1, 6-3. Earlier, Maria Sharapova withdrew before her second-round match against Bethanie Mattek-Sands of the US because she was feeling the effects of a viral illness. Mattek-Sands then beat France's Stephanie Cohen-Aloro 7-5, 6-3. Zvonareva thru to quarters In Thailand, Vera Zvonareva won her 12th straight match at the Pattaya Open by beating Thai qualifier Nungnadda Wannasuk 6-1, 7-5 in the second round Thursday. Zvonareva will play Peng Shuai of China in Friday's quarterfinals. Fourth-seeded Daniela Hantuchova booked her spot in the last eight with a hard-fought 7-6 (3), 6-3 win over 40-year-old Japanese player Kimiko Date Krumm. Hantuchova will face Akgul Amanmuradova of Uzbekistan, who beat Chanelle Scheepers 6-2, 6-4. Montanes out In Brazil, second-seeded Albert Montanes of Spain was knocked of the second round of the Brazil Open by Ricardo Mello of Brazil 6-3, 6-3 Wednesday. It was Montanes' first match in the clay-court tournament after receiving a bye into the second round. Sixth-seeded Tommy Robredo of Spain, who won the Movistar Open Sunday in Chile, was also bounced out as countryman Pablo Andujar won 6-4, 5-7, 6-2. Top-seeded Nicolas Almagro of Spain defeated Joao Souza of Brazil 6-2, 6-2, while No. 3 seed Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil beat Carlos Berlocq of Argentina 6-4, 7-5.
