Ebden eliminated in San Jose
Aussie No.2 Matt Ebden's campaign at the ATP World Tour event in San Jose has come to an end at the hands of South African Kevin Anderson.
San Jose, California, 17 February 2012 | AFP
Australian Matthew Ebden has been eliminated from ATP San Jose Open after a straight-sets loss to South African sixth seed Kevin Anderson.
Anderson dispatched Ebden 6-1 6-2 on Thursday to book a quarterfinal date against defending champion and third seed Milos Raonic of Canada.
Belgian Steve Darcis upset Czech fourth seed Radek Stepanek 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-2) to also progress the quarterfinals of the $US531,000 event.
Darcis, ranked 72nd in the world, will next face the winner of a later match between French fifth seed Julien Benneteau and Luxembourg’s Gilles Muller.
In his 10th professional season, 27-year-old Darcis is seeking his third ATP title after a 2007 triumph in Amersfoort and a 2008 victory in Memphis.
French top seed Gael Monfils withdrew with a right knee injury and was replaced by US lucky loser Blake Strode, who was ousted by Bulgarian Dimitar Kutrovsky 7-5 6-3 in another second-round match.