Rusedski rifles past Roux

Greg Rusedski shrugged off illness to advance to the quarterfinals of the Stockholm Open with a 6-4 7-6 (7/5) win over Lionel…

Greg Rusedski shrugged off illness to advance to the quarterfinals of the Stockholm Open with a 6-4 7-6 (7/5) win over Lionel Roux of France. The second seed joined fellow Briton Tim Henman in the final eight at the Kungliga Tennishalle after spending two days in bed suffering from a stomach virus.

Rusedski needed just 68 minutes, and produced 14 aces in the first set and lost just one point on serve in his last four service games. He will now play either defending champion Thomas Enqvist or Magnus Larsson.

Rusedski's serve was his biggest weapon, accounting for 20 aces. He lost only seven points on serve - two in the second set - and his first eight points of the match came from a barrage of aces.

"I was pleased with my serve - it made the difference today," he said.

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"I cannot complain. I felt terrible for the past two days, but I just stayed in bed and slept.

"I was not taking any medicine, but the trainer gave me some pills with aspirin, vitamin C and caffeine this morning. They worked well."

New Swedish number one Jonas Bjorkman later produced the best home showing of his career to defeat compatriot Thomas Johansson 6-4 7-5 to reach the quarter-finals for the first time.

Bjorkman, who reached the Paris Open final last week, had managed to qualify for the second round in the Swedish capital only once in four previous tries.