AUCKLAND, New Zealand, Jan. 9 (UPI) -- Second seed Goran Ivanisevic withstood rain delays and a determined opponent Wednesday to advance to the quarterfinals of the $357,000 Heineken Open.
Ivanisevic, the Wimbledon champion from Croatia, rallied past
19-year-old Russian Mikhail Youzhny, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3. Youzhny won the first set before rain held up play but Ivanisevic used his experience to carry him through.
Ivanisevic will have to wait to find out his quarterfinal opponent after four matches were either stopped or postponed due to the weather. His next foe could be sixth seed Greg Rusedski of Britain, who trails Michal Tabara of the Czech Republic, 5-7,1-0.
Top seed Marat Safin of Russia fell behind 1997 winner Jonas Bjorkman of Sweden, 3-1, before their match was halted. The matches between fourth-seeded Sjeng Schalken of the Netherlands and Spain's Felix Mantilla and Michel Kratochvil of Switzerland
and New Zealander Mark Nielsen were rescheduled for Thursday.
After a two-hour rain delay, fifth seed and 1996 champion Jiri Novak of the Czech Republic dispatched Fernando Vicente of Spain, 6-3, 6-3. Novak, who is 11-2 at this event, will face either Schalken or Mantilla in the next round.
Also, Argentina's David Nalbandian cruised past Spain's Francisco Clavet, 6-3, 6-3 and Jerome Golmard of France defeated Belgian qualifier Gilles Elseneer, 7-6 (7-5), 6-2.
