Los Angeles - Rusty third seed Marcos Baghdatis fell victim to on-form Lu Yen-Hsun as the challenger earned a 6-3, 6-4 victory Wednesday into the quarter-finals of the Farmers Classic.
Baghdatis, a former Australian open finalist, was playing his first match since Wimbledon, while Taiwan's Lu has gotten match-tough on hard court with an Atlanta quarter-final last week as his buildup to the US Open began.
The upset took just 73 minutes as 2010 quarter-finalist Baghdatis failed to advance against his 76th-ranked rival. Baghdatis had won their only prior meeting two years ago in Kuala Lumpur.
Lu lifted his 2011 record to 11-16 as he set up a clash on Friday against rising US player Ryan Harrison, an Atlanta semi-finalist who beat countryman Michael Russell 6-3, 6-4 in Los Angeles.
Latvian Ernests Gulbis continued his comeback under the wing of new coach Guillermo Canas, defeating American Daniel Kosakowski 6-2, 6-4 as his recovery continues from a five-match losing streak going back to early May.
'Having a first-round match helped me,' said Lu, who beat Baghdatis after the Cypriot had a bye in the first round.
'It was his first match since Wimbledon. I know he can play better, but it always helps to have a match to get accustomed to conditions. He's a better player than he showed today. I played better on the important points today. That was a big part of the victory.'
DPA
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