Tennis Roundup : Mezzadri Upsets Nystrom, De la Pena Surprises Leconte

Unseeded Claudio Mezzadri figured he had nothing to lose so he took some chances.

They paid off as Mezzadri, of Switzerland, upset second-seeded Joakim Nystrom of Sweden, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3, Wednesday at Geneva, Switzerland, in the second round of the $231,000 Geneva Open.

“I took risks with my forehand and was able to anticipate his shots,” Mezzadri said.

Mezzadri, ranked 61st in the world, also used an unerring first serve and a powerful forehand to polish off Nystrom.

In another upset, Horacio de la Pena of Argentina gained the quarterfinals by downing defending champion and third-seeded Henri Leconte of France, 6-7, 6-4, 6-2, in a 2 1/2-hour battle of left-handers.

De la Pena, 21, said it was his biggest win since defeating John McEnroe at this year’s French Open. The former South American junior champion used heavy topspin groundstrokes and a powerful serve against Leconte, 24, who complained about a nagging back injury.

“The last two times he beat me so easily,” De la Pena said. “I’ve been learning from my new coach, Jose-Luis Clerc, and I have more confidence now on big points.”

Manuela Maleeva of Bulgaria needed just 62 minutes to rout Molly Van Nostrand, 6-0, 6-3, in the second round of the $300,000 Pan Pacific Women’s Open at Fujisawa, Japan.

Maleeva, ranked ninth in the world and seeded second in the tournament, won nine straight games before the unseeded Van Nostrand finally held serve in the fourth game of the second set and broke Maleeva in the fifth game.

However, Maleeva broke right back to regain control.

In another second-round matches, third-seeded Barbara Potter struggled past Susan Mascarin 2-6, 6-2, 6-4; No. 6 Dianne Balestrat of Australia beat Beth Herr 6-3, 6-3; Nicole Provis of Australia outpointed Anne White, 6-2, 7-6; Marianne Werdel outlasted Gigi Fernandez, 5-7, 6-4, 6-3; Etsuko Inoue of Japan trounced Beverly Bowes, 6-3, 6-3, and Catarina Lindqvist of Sweden trounced Wendy White, 6-0, 6-0.