Lindahl suffers Bangkok blues
Lindahl suffers Bangkok blues 
From correspondents in Bangkok, Thailand
Former Australian Captain September 28, 2007
AUSTRALIAN qualifier Nick Lindahl has been knocked out f the Thailand Open in the second round, losing 6-3 6-3 loss to Taiwanese qualifier Wang Yeu-tzuoo.
Wang, 22, has won two ATP Challenger titles this season defeated the world No.333 to set up a quarter-final date with No.6 seed Dmitry Tursunov from Russia.
Tursenov shrugged off exhaustion to defeat Michael Llodra from France 6-4 6-4 in just 62 minutes.
Tursunov arrived in Bangkok after helping Russia defeat Germany at the weekend to reach the Davis Cup final.
California-based Tursunov joked that he had recovered from days of gruelling tennis in Moscow by sleeping on the flight to Thailand.
“I had a few late nights in Moscow,” he said.
“I definitely didn’t want to stay here for three or four hours.
“Yesterday was much more difficult. I wasn’t moving well. But today I felt much better.
“As long as I stay focused, keep forcing myself, I’ll have a good chance.”
Tommy Haas meanwhile joined the mass exodus of seeds from the tournament, the No.4 seed from Germany losing 6-4 6-4 to Nicolas Mahut from France in the second round.
The Frenchman had not claimed an ATP Tour win in more than two months, but the world No.71 had enough game to spoil the day for Haas.
Haas’s loss continues the bad run for tournament organisers, who have seen world No.2 Rafael Nadal, US open finalist Novak Djokovic and world No.5 Andy Roddick withdraw with injuries.
Nadal and world No.3 Djokovic didn’t travel to Thailand, while Roddick withdrew an hour before his scheduled start in the first round.
Haas’s loss will also damage his chances of qualifying for the season-ending Masters Cup in Shanghai in November, with the German standing ninth in the race for one of the five remaining places in the field.
Mahut had not won a match on the ATP since the Campbell’s Hall of Fame Tennis Championships at Newport, Rhode Island, in July, later suffering a foot injury. But victory in a Challenger tournament in France last week helped him.
“It was a tough comeback, but I now have some confidence,” he said.
“My favourite surface is grass but I’m enjoying playing here.
“I couldn’t play for one month after my injury and I lost at the Masters Series in Cincinnati.
“I served well today.
“When it’s working then the rest of my game will be fine. My serve is my best weapon.”
In other matches, No.3 seed Tomas Berdych from the Czech Republic defeated Mischa Zverev from Germany 6-1 6-4 in less than an hour, while No.8 seed Fernando Verdasco fought back to defeat Frank Dancevic from Canada 3-6 6-3 6-4.
Agence France-Presse