Rusedski through as Rosset retires

Rusedski hopes to keep up his good form in Milan

Britain's Greg Rusedski is into the next stage of the Milan ATP Indoor tournament after his second round opponent Marc Rosset was forced to pull out through injury on Thursday.

The unseeded British player looked on course to win the clash before defending champion Rosset, clearly in pain, decided to withdraw at the beginning of the second set.

From early on, the Swiss player looked to be struggling with a back injury, receiving treatment on court.

Rosset was apparently injured while returning a volley of Rusedski's.

The number eight seed, coming from a tough three-set first-round win against Ivan Ljubcic, felt strong pains during the fourth game, on 2-2.

However, it took the Briton four attempts to break Rosset's serve, finally achieving it in the seventh game.

Rosset was in too much pain to continue

After going ahead, Rusedski never looked back and took the first set 6-3 after winning four successive games.

As the next set began, it looked doubtful that Rosset could continue, and after losing the opening game, Rosset called it a day.

Rusedski will hope to continue his excellent start to the season at the event in Milan.

At the moment, the 27-year-old seems to be reaping the benefits of having a new coach and a remodelled service action.

One of Rusedski's highlights of the year so far will clearly be his five-set victory over number one seed Gustavo Kuerten at the Australian Open.

The result took him up to 13th place in the current ATP Champions Race.