Eighth-seeded Andy Roddick reached the third round at the Paris Masters yesterday and took a big step toward qualifying for the ATP World Tour Finals by beating Jarkko Nieminen 6-1, 6-4.
Defending champion Novak Djokovic and third-seeded Andy Murray of Britain also advanced.
Roddick never looked in trouble against the Finn and didn’t face a single break point as he broke his opponent three times.
Only the top eight players qualify for the ATP Finals in London from 21 till 28 November, with No. 1 Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Djokovic, Murray and Robin Soderling having already booked their places.
“Every match I win is significant at this point,” Roddick said. “Puts more pressure on the guys behind me. I have a pretty good shot no matter how I do here this week, but I think the last thing you want to do is be in that position where you’re at home cheering against somebody hoping that something bad happens to them.”
Roddick is in eighth place in the rankings and will be guaranteed a spot at the year-end tournament unless Fernando Verdasco reaches the final in Paris or Jurgen Melzer wins the tournament.
No. 11 Melzer progressed with a 6-3, 7-6 (6) win over Santiago Giraldo.
Roddick, who next plays Ernests Gulbis of Latvia, lost only five of the 29 points played on his first serve.
Djokovic overcame a slow start and an early break in the first set to beat Juan Monaco of Argentina 6-4, 6-3.
The second-seeded Serb struggled on his first serve but fended off seven of eight break points and took Monaco’s serve three times. He’ll next play either John Isner of the United States or Michael Llodra of France.
Murray also had some problems in his 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory over former No. 3 David Nalbandian and received treatment for an apparent wrist injury during the decider.
Nalbandian, who missed most of last year because of hip surgery and missed two months this season with a hamstring problem, lost only two points on his first serve in the opening set but tumbled at a crucial point when he was broken in the 10th game of the second set after two consecutive unforced errors, allowing Murray to level.
No. 13 Marin Cilic of Croatia also advanced, beating Sergiy Stakhovsky of Ukraine 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 while Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland hit 11 aces as he defeated No. 15 Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia 6-4, 6-4.
Roger Federer, the No. 1-seeded player at the tournament following Rafael Nadal’s withdrawal, won easily 6-4,6-4 against Richard Gasquet of France in the evening session.