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Updated at 7:20 a.m., Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Blake advances to Gerry Weber Open quarterfinals

Associated Press

HALLE, Germany — American James Blake advanced to the quarterfinals at the Gerry Weber Open by beating Russian teenager Evgeny Korolev 7-5, 6-1 today.

Blake, who had 16 aces, said he improved from Monday's three-set win over Sam Querry in the first round.

"My serve was good, which is great on grass," Blake said. "The courts are better, too. The first day they were slippery."

Fourth-seeded Tomas Berdych also advanced, beating Fabrice Santoro of France 6-3, 7-6 (5). Philipp Kohlschreiber defeated Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi 6-4, 6-3.

Korolev, who turned pro in 2005, netted an easy volley to give Blake his first break and the first set.

"You try to put some pressure on. You never know how a young guy like that will react," Blake said. "But you can see he has some talent."

Korolev struggled to hold serve in the second set, and Blake broke him again to take a 3-1 lead.

Blake and Berdych are the favorites to win the Wimbledon warmup tournament following the withdrawal of four-time champion Roger Federer.

The 21-year-old Berdych lost to Federer in the final last year.

"It was a great week last year, but I was stopped in the final by Roger," Berdych said. "This year everything is going very well again."