Gaudio toppled by Calleri in Kitzbuehel

KITZBUEHEL, Austria, July 28 (Reuters) Defending champion Gaston Gaudio was ousted in the quarter-finals of the Kitzbuehel Open today after an emphatic 7-5 6-0 defeat to fellow Argentine Agustin Calleri.

After saving two match points on Thursday in his third round meeting with German Denis Gremelmayr, the world number 16 was unable to mount a similar escape against Calleri.

Surrendering the opening set with a late loss of serve, the 2004 French Open winner received an official warning for smashing his racket at the start of the second.

As Gaudio wilted in the oppressive Kitzbuehel heat, Calleri maintained his own composure impressively, the 29-year-old world number 59 sealing victory with an ace.

''I think I started quite well, but when he broke me at the end of the first set I got pretty frustrated and after that I couldn't do much,'' Gaudio said.

''I haven't been playing the way I want to for a couple of months now. In one way my success with the French Open win and my five tournament wins in 2005 have helped because I know I can play good tennis.

''On the other hand it can be hard when things aren't going so well, because all the time I'm wishing I was playing like I was back then.'' Gaudio's departure leaves the Austrian tournament without any of its top four seeds, following the earlier exits of Nikolay Davydenko, Tommy Robredo and Jarkko Nieminen.

Spanish fifth seed Fernando Verdasco managed to survive the cull, booking his place in the semi-finals with a 6-4 6-4 win over Ecuador's Nicolas Lapentti.

Verdasco will now take on Calleri for a berth in Sunday's final.

In today's remaining quarter-final matches, unseeded Austrian Juergen Melzer faces Russian eighth seed Mikhail Youzhny, while Argentine seventh seed Juan Ignacio Chela goes up against German Philipp Kohlschreiber.

REUTERS DH PM1939