Fish Rolls Into Quarter-Finals At Delray Beach

Despite his modest first serve percentage, Fish came up with six aces to assert control of the match.

American top seed Mardy Fish needed only 68 minutes to defeat Vince Spadea 6-4 6-1 and reach the quarter-finals of the Delray Beach International on Thursday.

Fish, a finalist in 2003, landed only 51 percent of his first serves but managed to defeat his compatriot for the fourth time in five career meetings.

"We've always had tough matches, three-setters just about every time," Fish told reporters. "The last time I played him, I think I lost the first set in a breaker and then 0 and 1 in the next two sets so I think I've kind of figured out what to do."

Fish, the world number 20, ousted Spadea by playing well when it mattered most, converting five of eight break points against the 117th-ranked Floridian.

Despite his modest first serve percentage, Fish came up with six aces to assert control of the match.

The 27-year-old is trying to make his second final in three weeks, having advanced to the final of the San Jose Open where he lost to Czech Republic's Radek Stepanek.

Fish will play Frenchman Florent Serra for a place in the semi-finals of the $500,000 hardcourt tournament. Serra, seeded sixth, ousted Germany's Mischa Zverev 6-3 4-6 6-4.

Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis ousted Israel's Dudi Sela 7-6 6-3 to enter the quarterfinals, where he faces Jeremy Chardy of France, a winner over Kazakhstan's Audrey Golubev 7-6 (5) 7-5.