Fish reels in Ancic on tough day in Auckland

MELBOURNE, Jan 11 (Reuters) Second seed Mario Ancic's stay at the Auckland Open ended in the second round after the big-serving Croat was beaten 6-4 6-4 by American Mardy Fish today.

With rain causing havoc to the schedule, many players had to contest back-to-back matches and top seed Tommy Robredo emerged unscathed to reach the last four with a 6-4 5-7 6-2 quarter-final win over Germany's Philipp Kohlscreiber.

Fish enjoyed more success in his second contest of the day, a 7-6 7-6 quarter-final victory over Argentina's Juan Ignacio Chela.

Spanish third seed David Ferrer also survived two outings and showed no mercy in his second round match against a hapless Daniele Bracciali, who perished 6-0 6-1.

He then went on to oust Belgium's Kristof Vleigen 3-6 6-3 6-2 to reach the last four.

Argentina's Agustin Calleri was the fourth player to advance to the semi-finals, the seventh seed edging compatriot Juan Monaco 4-6 6-4 6-3.

Fifth seed Dominik Hrbaty was another casualty today, falling 6-2 6-3 to Kohlscreiber in a second round match.

REUTERS PDS VV1710