French tennis player Michael Llodra has beaten third-seeded countryman Sebastien Grosjean to reach the third round of the Mercedes Benz Cup tennis tournament at Los Angeles.
Llodra's three-set win left the tournament without two of its top three seeds. On a searing hot day Wednesday, Llodra was up 5-2 in the third set, but let Grosjean gain some ground before finally taking the match, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6.
Also in the second round, fourth-seeded Andy Roddick of the United States scored a straight-set win over countryman Brian Vahaly: 7-5, 6-4. Seventh-seeded Belgian Xavier Malisse scored a three-set win over American Taylor Dent: 6-1, 4-6, 6-4. Eighth-seeded Max Mirnyi of Belarus ousted Thailand's Paradorn Srichaphan in straight sets: 7-6, 6-4.
Defending champion and second seed Andre Agassi of the United States is the highest seeded player left in the draw. He takes on countryman Robby Ginepri Thursday.
American Lindsay Davenport showed no signs of the knee injury that has sidelined her this year, when she won her first match in the Bank of the West Classic tournament at Palo Alto, California.
Davenport has been off the courts for nine months recovering from a knee operation. But she easily got past Luxembourg's Anne Kremer in straight sets late Wednesday, 6-3, 6-0. The tall American, seeded second, won 16 straight points to open the second set and needed just 45 minutes to win.
She will next face fifth-seeded Jelena Dokic of Yugoslavia, a three-set winner over Conchita Martinez of Spain: 1-6, 6-0, 6-1. Meanwhile, American veteran Monica Seles defeated Thailand's Tamarine Tanasugarn in three sets: 6-4, 3-6, 6-1.
Seventh-seeded Daja Bedanova of the Czech Republic scored a straight-set win over Tatiana Panova of Russia 6-3, 6-4. She takes on Yugoslavia's Jelena Jankovic, a straight-set winner over American Sarah Taylor 6-1, 6-1.
Top seed Venus Williams of the United States plays her first match of the tournament Thursday, when she takes on countrywoman Meghann Shaughnessy, the woman who beat her last year at this tournament.