Melzer makes home progress

 

Originally published on: 26/02/10 12:29

The second seeded Austrian had not reached the last eight of a tournament since October last year, coincidentally also in his homeland at Vienna, but sealed his progression on Wednesday 6-4 7-5 in 88 minutes.

The 28-year-old will meet seventh seed Mikhail Youzhny in the quarter-finals after the Russian defeated wild card Stefan Koubek 6-2 6-4.

Victor Hanescu, the only other seeded player left in the draw, also booked his place in the next round with a 6-1 7-6 (7/2) triumph against Marcel Granollers and will play Guillermo Garcia-Lopez next up.

There were also wins for qualifier Juan Ignacio Chela and wildcard entrant Daniel Koellerer.

Chela recorded a 6-3 6-4 win over Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo, the same player he beat four days ago in qualifying, while Koellerer kept the Austrian challenge alive by beating Diego Junqueira 6-1 6-2.

Spaniard Oscar Hernandez advanced to his third quarter-final of the year with a 7-5 6-4 victory over wildcard Andreas Beck.

Julien Benneteau rounds out the last eight after he won a three-setter 6-1 6-7 (7/4) 7-6 (9/7) against Chilean Nicolas Massu.

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