ROTTERDAM-- Russian second seed Nikolay Davydenko easily overcame a potentially tough challenger in Spaniard Feliciano Lopez to reach the second round of the World Indoor Tournament with a 6-4 6-2 win on Wednesday.
Davydenko, the world number six, had beaten Lopez only once in five previous meetings and had to wait until the ninth game of the first set to break the Spaniard's service.
The Russian took the first set and settled the match with an early double break in the second to leave Lopez still without a win in Rotterdam in his fifth attempt.
"It is always very tough against him on every surface," Davydenko told reporters. "Today I had the feeling he automatically tried to play the tactical plan of our last three meetings.
"It gave me some problems in the beginning, but that also had to do with the extremely fast court."
Davydenko, who defeated Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal in London last year and again in Doha this year, will face Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis who brushed aside James Blake 6-4 6-2 .
Swede Robin Soderling overcame Dutch qualifier Igor Sijsling 7-6 6-2 to reach the quarter-finals.
Soderling, eighth in the world rankings, trailed 4-0 then 6-4 in the first set tie-break before rallying to win the set.
"He didn't surprise me today but it is always tough to play a qualifier who already had some matches in this tournament" Soderling said.
"I feel mentally and physically okay after some tough weeks and now I only need to start to play some better tennis"
PARIS-- Girondins Bordeaux's hopes of an unprecedented treble were dashed on Wednesday when they lost 2-0 at home to Monaco in the last 16 round of the French Cup. Champions Bordeaux, who top the Ligue 1 standings and travel to Lorient for a place in the League Cup final on Feb. 17, were hoping to become the first team to win the league and both domestic Cups in the same season.
They bowed out of the French Cup on a snow-covered pitch to goals scored from close range by Mali international and former Liverpool player Djimi Traore in the 27th minute and Nigerian Moussa Maouzou in the 53rd.
Olympique Marseille also crashed out of the competition in the snow through a 3-1 defeat at Racing Lens in a rescheduled last 32 match.
Tunisian striker Issam Djemaa scored twice in the first half and Toifilou Maoulida sealed Lens' victory in the 57th minute. Benoit Cheyrou saved some pride for Marseille four minutes later.
Saint-Etienne and AJ Auxerre dispatched second division Vannes 2-0 and third division Plabennec 4-0 respectively to reach the quarter-finals but another Ligue 1 team Toulouse failed to make the last 16, losing 2-0 to second division Brest.
BARCELONA-- Barcelona are unwilling to accept a system of sharing television revenue among La Liga clubs as it would weaken their ability to compete with European rivals, president Joan Laporta said on Wednesday.
Barca and Real Madrid dominate in Spain in part because they each have TV contracts worth around 120 million euros ($165 million) a year, around half the total pot for the 20 clubs in the top flight.
Spain's professional league (LFP) essentially backs the introduction of collective bargaining but recognises that persuading Barca and Real to accept it would be difficult.
"I don't want to damage the interests of Barcelona Football Club, because we have to compete with teams in other countries," Laporta said in an interview with Reuters Television at his office next to the Nou Camp stadium.
"In England, we are talking about 2 billion euros for Premier League rights so we have to compete against clubs that are making more money than us," he added.
"But if there is a change in the system we will face that. I'm open to look for other systems to balance what every club represents in this business. I'm open to discuss other possibilities to make money (for) all of us."
Laporta denied a Spanish radio report this week that said the European champions had an agreement with Cesc Fabregas for the Arsenal captain to move back to the club, where he played as a teenager, for next season.
"I respect Arsenal too much to talk about players that are playing for Arsenal now," Laporta told Reuters.
"In this case, we have no agreement with any player that is not playing for Barcelona right now," he added.
"In case we were interested in a player, we would talk directly with the club. There are FIFA rules that we have to respect and there is a question of the way we work."
Laporta is coming to the end of his second term as Barca president and an election will be held to find his replacement after the end of the season, probably in June.
He said he was throwing his weight behind the candidacy of Alfons Godall, one of the club's vice presidents, as he was the best person to take the club on to new heights.
"I defend this (Barca) model and support the candidate that will defend this model," Laporta said.
"His colleagues in the candidacy, in my opinion, are smart and capable of improving this model and this candidate is Alfons Godall, my vice president."
Laporta added he was proud to have persuaded coach Pep Guardiola, who led Barca to an unprecedented six trophies in 2009, to stay on for one more season to June 2011.
He said he understood the 39-year-old's decision not to sign a new contract until after the presidential elections and he has thrashed out the details with the new incumbent.
"This is logical because he would like to know who the new president is but at least he is committed for one more year," Laporta said.
"We shook hands and this is the best way and nicest way to reach an agreement."
KOLKATA, India-- The Indian cricket board's appeal against the one-year ban on New Delhi's Feroz Shah Kotla stadium has been dismissed, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said on Wednesday.
The fifth and final match of the series between Sri Lanka and India in December was called off after 23.3 overs due to a dangerous pitch, upon which the tourists had struggled to 83 for five.
Following an investigation by chief referee Ranjan Madugalle and cricket operations manager Dave Richardson, the ICC ruled last month that no international cricket could be played at the stadium until the end of 2010.
Independent appeals commissioner Michael Beloff decided the imposed suspension was proportionate in this case, the ICC said in a statement.
"In his judgment Mr Beloff states that following due consideration of all the evidence and submissions from both the ICC and BCCI, the correct decision was taken by Mr Richardson and Mr Madugalle to declare the pitch to be dangerous and, therefore, unfit," the statement said.
ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said the focus would now be on getting the stadium ready for the World Cup which India is jointly hosting with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh from Feb. 19 to April 2, next year
The New Delhi stadium is scheduled to stage four matches.
"The ICC's pitch consultant will travel shortly to Feroz Shah Kotla, a ground with a long and proud history, to begin the process of remedial work that will ensure the pitch is restored to its former glory," Lorgat said in a statement.
PARIS-- American teenager Melanie Oudin marched into the second round of the Paris Open with a 6-3 6-0 demolition of Romania's Sorana Cirstea on Tuesday.
In spite of a sore throat, the 18-year-old, who won both her singles matches in the United States' surprise Fed Cup victory over France at the weekend, was in sparkling form.
"I was playing really well at the weekend and I played really well today," said Oudin, who enjoyed a dazzling run at last year's U.S. Open when she reached the last eight.
"My serve was working incredibly well so I am looking forward to my next match."
In the second round she will face Switzerland's Patty Schnyder who upset seventh seed Virginie Razzano 6-3 7-6.
The 31-year-old Schnyder was playing her first match after a three-and-a-half month lay-off for an Achilles injury.
She broke France's Razzano, ranked 24 in the world, at 3-2 and went on to take the first set 6-3.
Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova was a comfortable 6-1 6-0 winner over Iveta Benesova of the Czech Republic and next faces compatriot and number one seed Elena Dementieva in the second round on Wednesday.
Australian Open winner Serena Williams pulled out of the tournament last week because of a leg injury.
