Murray reaches quarterfinals
VALENCIA, Spain -- Top-seeded Andy Murray reached the Valencia Open quarterfinals, where a match with defending champion David Ferrer was averted when the Spaniard withdrew because of a hamstring injury.
Need the scores from any match played in today's tournaments? Murray, making his return from a wrist injury, lost his serve twice but defeated Leonardo Mayer of Argentina 6-4, 3-6, 6-3. On Friday he'll face Albert Montanes of Spain, who was the beneficiary of Ferrer's withdrawal.
Ferrer, seeded eighth, hurt his right hamstring during his first-round match with compatriot Nicolas Almagro, who he beat in last year's final. Ferrer said the medical team told him to rest for two weeks, which will mean missing next week's Paris Masters.
Second-seeded Nikolay Davydenko, on course to qualify for this month's ATP Tour finals in London, beat Juan Monaco of Argentina 6-3, 7-5, and fourth-seeded Fernando Verdasco of Spain, the 2004 Valencia champ, downed Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia 6-3, 6-3.
Verdasco will next play seventh-seeded Tommy Robredo, who outlasted Feliciano Lopez 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in an all-Spanish match. Mikhail Youzhny topped Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay 6-2, 2-6, 6-1 and will play fifth-seeded Gilles Simon of France on Friday.
Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press
