David Ferrer's struggles continued at the China Open on Thursday as Israel's Dudi Sela upset the top seed 6-3 6-3.Since winning his seventh career title and second this year at s-Hertogenbosch in June, Spaniard Ferrer - the world number five - has failed to build on that momentum.
The 26-year-old, who received a first-round bye as one of the top four seeds here, has one semi-final appearance in his last six tournaments and was ousted in the third round at both Wimbledon and the US Open.
Ferrer's current slide also includes a first-round exit at the Beijing Olympics.
Ferrer's secondround troubles continued against Sela, the world number 92 who was perfect in four break-point opportunities en route to winning in just 69 minutes.
Seeking his first career title, Sela next will face either sixth-seeded Spaniard Tommy Robredo or Ivo Minar of the Czech Republic, who meet later on Thursday.
Second-seeded American Andy Roddick also will be in action for the first time here when he takes on compatriot Brendan Evans, who moved on to the second round with a hard-fought 7-6 (7/5) 1-6 7-6 (12/10) victory over Croatia's Roko Karanusic on Wednesday.
In the women's draw, Russian fourth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova scored a 6-2 6-3 victory over compatriot Alla Kudryavtseva in their second-round match.
Kuznetsova, who is seventh in the world rankings, has advanced to four finals in 2008 but has come up empty-handed each time, including last week at the Pan Pacific Open, where she suffered a 6-1 6-3 loss to fellow countrywoman Dinara Safina.
The 23-year-old showed no lasting effects from the loss as she rebounded in her first match after receiving a first-round bye as one of the top four seeds at the hardcourt event.
Kuznetsova won seven of nine break points against Kudryavtseva, earning the victory in 58 minutes while improving to 40-15 for the year.
She next will face Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova, who upset eighth-seeded Russian Anna Chakvetadze 6-3 6-2 during their second-round match.
Kuznetsova has won both career meetings against Cibulkova, the world number 20, but was pushed to three sets in their last meeting at Indian Wells in March.
Also advancing to the quarter-finals was local favourite Zheng Jie, who enjoyed a 6-1 6-2 triumph over Japan's Ai Sugiyama.
by espnstar.com
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