Djokovic advances; No. 5 Nieminen falls in Bangkok

It was a busy day for the seed players at the Thailand Open in Bangkok, as four out of the five seeds playing in the six singles matches advanced to the quarterfinals. No. 5 seed Jarkko Nieminen of Finland was the only seeded player to crash out of the draw on Thursday.

World No. 3 and defending Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic (pictured) easily dispatched German qualifier Simon Stadler, 6-1, 6-3. Djokovic, who has already qualified for the year-end Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai, smashed five aces compared to one double fault in the victory. A three-time singles champion this season, Djokovic earned his 56th win of the year and next meets No. 6 Robin Soderling, who defeated Teimuraz Gabashvili, 6-1, 6-3. The Serbian tennis sensation owns a 2-0 series edge against Soderling, with his most recent victory coming in the third round of the Masters Series Canada this past July.

Frenchman Nicolas Mahut, who is currently ranked No. 74, shocked Nieminen, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, to advance to his first quarterfinal since February. The young Frenchman smashed four aces, while winning 80 percent of his first serve points and breaking serve on three of nine occasions. The win marked the first time he has won back-to-back matches since Queen’s Club in June. Two weeks ago in an Orleans, France, Challenger tournament, Mahut defeated Belgian Christophe Rochus to claim the title. Two-time former Bangkok semifinalist, Nieminen now falls to 20-23 on the year. Mahut will next face No. 3 seed Tomas Berdych, who smashed 10 aces en route to a convincing, 7-5, 6-1, victory over Simone Bolelli of Italy. Berdych reached the semifinals in Bangkok last year in his first appearance in the tournament. On Friday against Mahut, Berdych will be looking for his 27th win of the season and a third appearance in a 2008 ATP level semifinal.

No. 8 Jurgen Melzer was also a winner on Thursday afternoon, as he defeated rising Serbian star Viktor Troicki, 6-4, 7-5. He now sets up a quarterfinal showdown against No. 2 seed and Australian Open finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.