Sadecky struggled in the opening set as the Frenchman piled on the pressure with his fine shots to take the set 6-1. Sadecky, however, slightly found his touch in the second set with a series of brilliant volleys from the baseline.

But Meniane kept the same form with several superb drop shots to have the Swiss in trouble on many occasions. Sadecky responded well in an attempt to save the match but Meniane was not to be denied as he took the set 6-4 and the match.

The top four seeds, on the other hand, made it safely to the same round with impressive victories.

Top seed Hicham Arazi of Morocco did not face any difficulty as he easily ousted Abdullah Hajji of Qatar 6-2, 6-2 for a berth in the quarter-finals. Arazi, who was ranked 22 in the world in 2001, will face Meniane in the quarter-finals.

Second seed Jerome Golmar of France was given a strong resistance by his compatriot, Julien Maes, in their second round match. Golmar, once ranked 22 in the world in 1999 and winner of the Dubai Open in the same year, easily took the first set 6-1.

But he came under intense pressure as Maes pulled off some great winners to take the second set 6-2 to level the scores 1-1. The deciding set was full of excitement as both players went for winners and taking turns for the lead to put the set into a tie-breaker. Golmar, with his rich experience, took the tie-breaker 10-8 and the match.

Third seed Marco Chiudinelli of Switzerland defeated the defending champion, Mohammed Maamoun of Egypt, 6-2, 6-1 for a quarter-final spot. The Swiss, ranked 30 in the world, proved too strong for Maamoun, who is 600 in the world rankings.

Fourth seed, Ivo Klec of Slovakia, on the other hand, faced a strong opposition from Qualid Jallali of Tunisia before scraping to a 7-5, 7-5 victory. In a thrilling encounter, both players tested each other with a quality display of tennis. Klec, ranked 330 in the world and winner of the this year’s Marbella tennis tournament, managed to take both sets and the match. Morocco’s Rabie Chaki dropped the second set but recovered to beat Dimitry Sitak of Russia 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 to advance to the quarter-finals. Chaki was the losing finalist in this year’s Marbella tennis tournament. Mohammed Al Ghareb of Kuwait and Sweden’s Johan Ortegren shocked third seed, the Maamoun brothers, Karim and Mohammed 6-2, 6-1 in the men’s doubles second round match. Fourth seed Ivo Klec (Slovakia)/Marco Chiudinelli (Switzerland) overcame Sherif Sabri (Egypt)/Rabie Chaki (Morocco) 6-3, 6-3.

Results: Men’s Super singles second round: Hicham Arazi (Morocc) bt Abdullah Hajji (Qatar) 6-2, 6-2; Jerome Golmar (France) bt Julen Maes (France) 6-1, 2-6, 7-6 (8); Marco Chiudinelli (Switzerland) bt Mohammed Maamoun (Egypt) 6-2, 6-1; Ivo Klec (Slovakia) bt Qualid Jallali (Tunisia) 7-5, 7-5; Karim Maamoun (Egypt) bt Issam Jallali 6-1, 6-4; Tristan Meniane (France) bt Alexander Sadecky (Switzerland) 6-1, 6-4; Rabie Chaki (Morocco) bt Dimitry Sitak (Russia) 6-4, 4-6, 6-1.

Men’s Super doubles quarter-finals: Hicham Arazi (Morocco)/Jerome Golmar (France) bt Issam Jallali (Tunisia)/Qualid Jallali (Tunisia) 6-4, 6-4; Alexander Sadecky (Switzerland)/Dimitry Sitak (Russia) bt Julein Maes (France)/Tristan Meniane (France) 6-2, 6-4; Mohammed Al Ghareb (Kuwait)/Johan Ortegren (Sweden) bt Karim Mamoun (Egypt)/Mohammed Maamoun (Egypt); Ivo Klec (Slovakia)/Marco Chiudinelli (Switzerland) bt Sherif Sabri (Egypt)/Rabie Chaki (Morocco) 6-3, 6-3.

edwin@khaleejtimes.com