The wrist injury that plagued his career in recent past seemed a thing of the past as Germany’s Nicolas Kiefer effortlessly sailed into the quarterfinals of the ATP Countrywide Classic with a facile 6-3, 6-2 win against Igor Kunitsyn.
Kiefer can take heart from the fact that it was only his second match in hardcourt in more than a year. Kiefer will have to get past compatriot Michael Berrer in order to reach the semifinal of the $525,000 event at the Los Angeles Tennis Center at UCLA. Berrer reached quarterfinals by outplaying Ricardo Mello 6-3, 7-5.
Happy with his show in the second round, Kiefer said he was improving with every game. He said
Today I played much better than on Monday. That’s what I try to do the whole time, just improve day by day, do everything I can do out there. All I can do is go out and fight for every ball and try to find my rhythm.
Kiefer hurt his left wrist in the French Open last year and missed much of tennis action since then. The injury necessitated two surgeries and a prolonged rehab before the gritty German returned to the court.
Among others, Hyung-Taik Lee also reached the quarterfinals after his opponent Wesley Moodie retired with a back problem when the top ranked Korean was leading 6-2, 3-0.
