Davydenko, Murray reach quarters in Dubai

Fifth-seeded Nikolay Davydenko defeated Jan Hernych 6-1, 6-4 to reach the quarterfinals of The Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships. In the quarters, Davydenko will face Scot Andy Murray. He moved on with a 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(5) win over Fernando Verdasco in the second round. Murray, don’t forget, has already beaten world #1 Roger Federer in this tournament.

The only other player to have clinched a quarterfinal spot is Feliciano Lopez. The hard-serving Spaniard upset eighth-seeded Tomas Berdych 6-2, 7-5 and will face either David Ferrer of Olivier Rochus in the next round.

Yesterday, third-seeded Novak Djokovic and sixth-seeded Andy Roddick both won their first round matches. Djokovic took down young Croat Marin Cilic 6-4, 6-3 while Roddick moved past Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-2, 6-4. Djokovic will now face the French magician Fabrice Santoro, and Roddick will play another Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu.

Gonzalez, Baghdatis win openers in Las Vegas

Top-seeded Fernando Gonzalez reached the second round of the Tennis Channel Open with a 6-2, 7-6(2) victory over Dudi Sela. Gonzalez will now face the talented Russian youngster Evgeny Korolev in the second round.

Also winning his opening round match was third-seeded Marcos Baghdatis. The Cypriot won a hard-fought match over American Vince Spadea 7-6(5), 6-1. He will face another American in the second round – Robby Ginepri.

Sixth-seeded Michael Llodra was not as lucky, as he was upset by qualifier Kevin Anderson 6-2, 7-6(2).  Anderson will now face American John Isner, who won his opening round match over Alejandro Falla 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Serena wins in Bangalore

Third-seeded American Serena Williams won her second round match over Israeli Tzipora Obziler 7-5, 6-0. Williams, who received a bye in the first round, is playing for the first time since her quarterfinal loss in the Australian Open. She will now face the winner between sixth-seeded Sybille Bammer and Anastasia Rodionova in the quarterfinals.

Fifth-seeded Agnes Szavay was upset 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-4 in her second round match by Akgul Amanmuradova, who is a 23-year old from Uzbekistan. Amanmuradova is currently ranked #83 in the world and won her first round match over Yaroslava Shvedova in three sets as well.

Eighth-seeded Maria Kirilenko was knocked out of the tournament in the first round my Zi Yan of China. Yan won the match 3-6, 7-6(7), 6-1 and will face Ukrainian Olga Savchuk in the second round.