Guccione enters Adelaide quarterfinals

Adelaide: Australian left-hander Chris Guccione upset seventh-seeded Arnaud Clement of France 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5) on Thursday to advance to the Adelaide International quarterfinals. Guccione, who has played Davis Cup tennis for Australia, has a pair of career wins over Spain's Juan Carlos Ferrero. But the 153-ranked Guccione has now, for the first time, defeated three top-100 players in a row - Amer Delic of the United States, Germany's Benjamin Becker and veteran Clement. "I've beaten Ferrero a couple of times and some other guys in Davis Cup who were pretty high," said Guccione. "I've played matches where I've played really well but I've never backed them up and now I've won three in a row." Guccione also received word on Thursday - after his win over Clement - that he had received a wild card into the Australian Open that begins on January 15 in Melbourne. "Didn't know about the wildcard before so it's great to know I'm in there," Guccione said. Guccione joins second-seeded Frenchman Richard Gasquet and American Vince Spadea in the quarterfinals after the conclusion of round-robin play Thursday. Gasquet needed more than two hours in sweltering conditions at Memorial Drive to beat Canadian Davis Cup player Frank Dancevic 7-5, 5-7, 6-3. Spadea beat Russian Evgeny Korolev 6-1, 7-6 (6), a result that eliminated third-seeded Radek Stepanek from the tournament.