Roddick books Shanghai tennis spot

Paris, Oct 30: US star Andy Roddick reached the quarter-finals of the Paris Masters on Thursday and in so doing clinched his season-ending Shanghai Masters Cup berth, beating Gilles Simon of France 6-3, 7-5. Simon stood eighth in the ATP Race going into Thursday`s match but realistically needed to win as James Blake of the United States and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga are breathing down his neck.

For Roddick, his win cemented sixth spot and he next faces either Tsonga or third seed Novak Djokovic, who were facing off in a repeat of the Australian Open final won by the Serbian. Argentine eighth seed and title-holder David Nalbandian earlier thrashed his ninth-seeded Davis Cup teammate Juan Martin Del Potro 6-4, 6-0 to become the first quarter-finalist at the Paris Masters. Nalbandian, who took the pair`s series to 3-1 in his favour in their third meeting inside a month, next faces either fourth-seeded Briton Andy Murray or Spanish 15th seed Fernando Verdasco. A missed break point - one of four in total - in the seventh game of the second set was the closest Simon came to an upset. In a high-wire act he saved four match points in the 12th game before succumbing. With his loss to Nalbandian, Del Potro, suffering from a broken toenail, now must sweat on joining Roddick in China. The rising star is seventh in the ATP Race but could slide out of the eight-man field depending on other results here. "I don`t like playing against friends or Argentinian players - it`s tough," said a crestfallen Del Potro. "David did a great match. I don`t know if I`ll play Shanghai - I`m not qualified yet. "At least if I don`t I have the Davis Cup for sure - and that gives me plenty of motivation." Nalbandian, who assured Spanish reporters the Argentine crowd would give them a warm Davis Cup welcome in Mar del Plata, said Murray would be a huge obstacle. "He`s doing great - won a lot of important titles. He`s a talent." Murray is seeking this week to become the first man to win three straight Masters events after triumphs in Cincinnati and Madrid. Nalbandian could still theoretically qualify for China - "I will see if and when the time comes," he insisted - but is focused on teaming up with Del Potro afterwards as Argentina target a first Davis Cup final at the expense of Rafael Nadal`s Spain on November 21-23 in Mar del Plata. After Roddick`s win, two Shanghai slots remained up for grabs on a day when nine of the world`s top ten were in action. In evening play, world number one Nadal was taking on French hope Gael Monfils while second-ranked Roger Federer was meeting Croatian Marin Cilic. Sixth-seed Nikolay Davydenko of Russia was playing Tomas Berdych in the late match in a battle of former champions. Bureau Report