Federer in quarters

HALLE: Two-time defending champion Roger Federer beat Florian Mayer 6-2, 6-4 on Thursday to ease into the quarter-finals of the Gerry Weber Open. Germany’s Mayer, who reached the quarter-finals last year on his Wimbledon debut, was twice a break up in the second set but both times dropped his own service in the next game. In another match, fourth-seeded Guillermo Canas defeated Nenad Zimonjic 6-3, 7-6. — AP

Maradona returns

NAPLES: Hundreds of Napoli fans welcomed Diego Maradona to the southern Italian city on Thursday when the former Argentina star returned to the scene of some of his greatest triumphs. Fans crowded the local airport as Maradona returned to Napoli after a 14-year absence to attend former teammate Ciro Ferrara’ farewell match at San Paolo stadium. Maradona is feted as the greatest player in the club’s history after leading Napoli to the only two Italian league titles in its history. — AP

Roddick beats Beck

LONDON: Andy Roddick was stretched to three sets by Karol Beck before advancing to the quarter-finals of the Queen’s grass-court tournament. The second-seeded American, seeking to become the third player after John McEnroe and Lleyton Hewitt to win three consecutive titles at the Wimbledon warmup event, won 6-2, 3-6, 6-4. Also, Ivo Karlovic — who at 6-foot-10 is the tallest player on tour — blasted 22 aces to win 6-2, 6-4 over Tomas Zib. The 10th-seeded Richard Gasquet beat Mario Ancic 7-5, 1-6, 6-3. — AP