Hewitt continues strong hometown play

ADELAIDE, Australia, Jan. 3 (UPI) -- Lleyton Hewitt advanced to the quarterfinals Thursday of the Adelaide International tennis tournament, an event in his hometown that he's won twice.

Hewitt, seeded No. 1 this week, is looking to add a third Adelaide title to his resume. He won in 1998 and 2000 and collected a second-round victory in the 2008 version with a 6-2, 6-2 triumph over Jose Acasuso.

He next goes against sixth-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who defeated Ernests Gulbis 6-3, 6-2 in Thursday's second-round play.

Also Thursday, No. 3-seeded Jarkko Nieminen beat Frank Dancevic 6-4, 6-1 and Vincent Spadea topped Mischa Zverev 6-3, 7-5. Nieminen and Spadea are paired against each other in Friday's quarterfinals.

Second-seeded Paul-Henri Mathieu is scheduled to play Australian wild-card entrant Joseph Sirianni and Benjamin Becker goes against Michael Llodra in the other quarterfinals Friday.