Fifth seed Yuichi Sugita advanced to the semi-finals of the Chengdu Open on Friday as he defeated Dusan Lajovic 6-2, 6-4 in 64 minutes. It is another step forward in what has been a career year for the Japanese player. The 29-year-old Sugita won his first ATP World Tour title in Antalya on grass in June (d. Mannarino) and reached his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 quarter-final in Cincinnati (l. to Dimitrov). Earlier this month, the right-hander hit a new career-high at No. 42 in the Emirates ATP Rankings. [ALSO LIKE] Sugita made short work of Lajovic, converting four of his six break points and winning 70 per cent of his service points in the pair’s first meeting. “I...
Alexander Zverev battled through a testing opening match at the Shenzhen Open on Thursday evening, edging Steve Darcis 4-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(5) in two hours and 48 minutes. "I'm just happy to go through. I was down a break in both sets and it's good to win those matches," said the German, who is closing in on a spot at the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals. Looking to defeat Zverev for the second time this year, Darcis twice put himself in a strong position to win the match. After securing the first set with a break in the third game, the Belgian served for the match at 6-5 in the second set, but could not get to match point as Zverev fought...
#NextGenATP star Taylor Fritz is through to the quarter-finals of the Chengdu Open after finishing strongly to defeat Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 on Thursday in the first week of the ATP World Tour Asian swing. The 19-year-old Fritz is looking for a big push in the closing stages of the season as he bids to qualify for the inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals. The right-hander is currently 11th in the Emirates ATP Race To Milan, with the Top 7 qualifying by right and the eighth spot going to the winner of an all-Italian wild-card tournament. "I'm feeling pretty good," said Fritz, who came through qualifying at this ATP World Tour 250 tournament. "The match was really physical and we...
#NextGenATP American Jared Donaldson battled into the quarter-finals of the Chengdu Open as he edged Kyle Edmund 6-0, 1-6, 6-4 on Wednesday at the ATP World Tour 250 tournament. It is an important win for the 20-year-old Donaldson, who is currently sixth in the Emirates ATP Race To Milan, as he bids to qualify for the inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals. Just five weeks remain in the battle to qualify for the eight-player event. Donaldson defeated Edmund for the second time this year, breaking the Briton in the final game of the match to convert his third match point after one hour and 39 minutes. The right-hander also came through a tight first-round encounter, beating Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-5 in the...
Zhizhen Zhang began his week with one career ATP World Tour victory. But after the 20 year old’s stunning 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(4) upset over fourth-seeded Paolo Lorenzi, the Chinese qualifier is into his first tour-level quarter-final at the Shenzhen Open. "I feel very excited," Zhang said. "I just wished tonight I can survive and I will be ready for the next one." Zhang was up 3-1 in the deciding set when he lost three games in a row, and then faced two break points, which would have allowed the No. 2 Italian to serve for the match. But once Zhang was able to hold, both players managed their service games well until the tie-break. Under the greatest pressure of his...
