Fish Gets By Gasquet To Reach Last 16

© Getty ImagesMardy Fish is through to the fourth round for the second year in a row.

American Mardy Fish reversed a losing record against No. 17 seed Richard Gasquet as he defeated the Frenchman 6-4, 6-3 in the third round of the Sony Ericsson Open on Sunday. Fish has now won two straight meetings on hard courts to even their head-to-head series at two wins apiece.

“It's very important to sort of stay the course against someone like him,” assessed Fish. “Try to neutralize his best shot, which is his backhand crosscourt, and then try to take your shots from there.”

The 14th seed served well, winning 72 per cent of his service points and hitting eight aces in the process. The win puts Fish into the round of 16 at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event for the second year in a row. He’ll play the winner of a much anticipated match-up between No. 4 seed Robin Soderling and Juan Martin Del Potro. Whoever comes through, whether it’s the Swede or the Argentine, Fish accepts that his opponent will be favored to win.

Buy Tickets | Watch Live Online

“First thing that comes to mind is underdog, which is probably what I'll be,” said Fish. “Juan seems to be back to his normal self. If you're not ranked in the Top 5, you can probably add a number next to your name eventually, because he will be up there in due time.” The American didn’t discount Soderling either. “He has more titles than anyone this year, three, or at least tied with Djokovic, and is playing as well as anyone. So it will be tough.”

No. 6 seed David Ferrer thrived in his return games against India’s Somdev Devvarman, taking their third round match 6-4, 6-2. The Spaniard won 56 percent of the points on Devvarman’s serve and broke the Indian three times in the second set to lock up the victory. He’ll play 23rd seed Michael Llodra or Marcel Granollers for a place in the quarter-finals.

Watch Highlights | Watch Fish Interview
 
Kevin Anderson continued his impressive run in Miami with a straight-sets victory over Pablo Andujar, 6-2, 6-3. The South African broke Andujar twice in the opening set and secured a late break in the second set to advance to the fourth round. His performance thus far in Miami guarantees him a new career-high place in the South African Airways 2011 ATP Rankings on Monday, at around World No. 36 after today’s win. Anderson will play an American next, either No. 30 seed John Isner or Alex Bogomolov Jr., who upset fifth-seeded Andy Murray in the second round.