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The Honolulu Advertiser
Updated at 5:51 a.m., Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Tennis: Davydenko cruises at Hamburg Masters

By NESHA STARCEVIC
AP Sports Writer

HAMBURG, Germany — Nikolay Davydenko cruised into the third round of the Hamburg Masters by defeating Ivan Ljubicic 6-4, 6-1 today, and two more players retired because of injuries.

Luis Horna dropped out with a calf injury while trailing Potito Starace 6-3, 4-2, and Kristof Vliegen pulled out with a back injury with Jose Acasuso leading 5-2. Filippo Volandri retired Monday with a knee injury.

Davydenko dominated Ljubicic after the two players traded five breaks of serve early in the match.

"The first match is always difficult," said Davydenko, who had a first-round bye.

The Russian, who is coming off a third-round loss to Tommy Robredo in Rome, won the Masters tournament in Miami last month.

"Losing to Robredo was difficult, but the win in Miami has made me mentally stronger," Davydenko said.

Withdrawals have become a common theme in European clay-court tournaments in the past month.

At the Rome Masters last week, five players withdrew. No semifinal match was completed.

The second-ranked Rafael Nadal, who lost in Rome in the second round after getting treated for a major blister on his foot, has blamed the crowded schedule for the series of retirements.

In another second-round match, Fernando Verdasco defeated Michael Llodra 6-2, 6-0.

In first-round action, 11th-seeded Carlos Moya rallied to defeat Julien Benneteau 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7), and Janko Tipsarevic rallied past Andreas Beck 3-6, 6-3, 6-1.