Baghdatis, Schuettler win at ATP Tour’s Farmers Classic in Los Angeles

Bryan brothers win in bid for record 62nd title

LOS ANGELES — Second-seeded Sam Querrey rallied to beat Kevin Anderson 7-6 (10), 4-6, 6-0 to open defense of his title at the Farmers Classic on Wednesday night.

Querrey served out the 2 hour, 14-minute match on his second match point, putting away a forehand winner.

He improved to 3-0 against Anderson, a South African who was set to play the qualifying here, but avoided it when he advanced to the semifinals last week in Atlanta. He received a special exemption into the main draw, and gave Querrey all he could handle until the third set.

“We both have big serves. I got lucky there,” Querrey said. “He’s got such a big serve. I couldn’t really get a rhythm. I just focused a little harder on my service games and I got a few more returns.”

Bob and Mike Bryan opened a bid to win their record 62nd career doubles title with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Mardy Fish and Mark Knowles.

The top-seeded Bryans are five-time champions of their hometown tournament at the Los Angeles Tennis Center on the UCLA campus, improving to 25-6 here with their 13th consecutive win. They’re from nearby Camarillo in Ventura County.

“It feels great to be on that court,” Mike said. “You look around and see a lot of familiar faces and it gives you a shot of energy. We played on that court when we were 6-years-old and probably every year since. It’s our favorite court in the world.”

The brothers are tied with Hall of Famers Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde with 61 career titles. They could have made history at Wimbledon, but lost in the quarterfinals.

Bob Bryan said the twins felt greater pressure to tie the Woodies, which they did in May at the Madrid Masters.

“That was the number we were looking at,” he said. “We want to play this game for another five years. We don’t feel that pressure.”

Third-seeded Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus beat American wild-card Ryan Sweeting 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 in second-round play.

Baghdatis fired 11 aces and had the same number of winners in advancing to his fifth quarterfinal of the year. He’ll next play sixth-seeded Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia, who beat qualifier Somdev Devvarman of India 7-6 (11), 6-2.

Baghdatis had lost all three of his matches in his three previous tournaments, all on grass. It was his first win since a second-round victory at the French Open in May.

“I fought for the match without playing perfect tennis,” he said. “I came to LA knowing I wasn’t going to play my best tennis. I felt really bad on court and it’s good to win when you feel bad.”

Sweeting fell to 1-7 in ATP Tour matches this year, including first-round losses at the French Open and Wimbledon.

“I started off playing well,” he said. “He started serving well. When he gets going, he’s a tough player. He’s a shotmaker. He can hit a winner from anywhere on the court.”

Tipsarevic improved to 2-0 against Devvarman, who missed a chance to break into the tour’s top 100 for the first time with a victory.

Rainer Schuettler of Germany outlasted American Robby Ginepri 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 in their first meeting since 2003. At 34, Schuettler is the oldest player in the singles draw. Schuettler will next play Querrey.