Australian Nick Kyrgios recorded just his second victory at the Western & Southern Open in beating ninth seed David Goffin of Belgium 6-2, 6-3 on a hot Tuesday in Cincinnati. “Obviously, seeing David Goffin in the first round was a bit of a surprise to me," said Kyrgios. "I think we both played each other in the [Tokyo, Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships] final not too long ago [in October 2016]. I knew it was going to be very tough. He obviously wasn't at 100 per cent today, but you know I'm not at 100 per cent either so it was a bit of a battle. But I served well at crucial moments. I'm feeling okay. I think as long...
Juan Martin del Potro made a winning return on Tuesday at the Western & Southern Open, after a four-year absence from the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament in Cincinnati. Del Potro, the 2012 and 2013 semi-finalist, got the better of Czech No. 10 seed Tomas Berdych, 3-6, 7-6(1), 6-0 for a place in the second round against American qualifier Mitchell Krueger. "During the second set, in the end, I played my best tennis," said del Potro. "I hit so sure with my forehand. I made good serves and I took all my chances to win... Mentally, I was strong enough to keep fighting and I think he got down after losing that second set. Then, when I broke his...
Richard Gasquet will take on incoming World No.1 Rafael Nadal in the Western & Southern Open second round after a routine opening to his Cincinnati campaign on Monday. The Frenchman took down Australian qualifier John-Patrick Smith 6-4, 6-4. Gasquet is coming off a narrow three-set loss to eventual Coupe Rogers champion Alexander Zverev last week, a match in which he held three match points. He will be looking for his first win in 15 FedEx ATP Head2Head clashes when he meets fellow 31-year-old Nadal. Against Smith, Gasquet broke four times to complete the one-hour, 25-minute result. The Australian had earlier beaten Vasek Pospisil and Christian Harrison to make the main draw. Watch Live On TennisTV Watch Full Match Replays Gasquet’s...
American 15th seed Sam Querrey made a strong start to the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati Monday, dismissing young #NextGenATP countryman Stefan Kozlov 6-3, 6-0 to breeze into the second round. The recent Wimbledon semi-finalist dropped just four points on his first serve and didn't face a break point. He advances to play the winner of Montreal semi-finalist Robin Haase and Montreal quarter-finalist Adrian Mannarino. Watch Live On TennisTV Watch Full Match Replays Wild cards Frances Tiafoe and Tommy Paul and qualifier Mitchell Krueger were three other Americans to advance in early play Monday. [ALSO LIKE] Tiafoe didn't face a break point in his 6-3, 7-6(2) win over German qualifier Maximilian Marterer. Currently ninth in the Emirates ATP Race...
Fourteenth seed John Isner won 91 per cent of his first-serve points (42/46) to win his opener at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati 7-6(3), 6-4 against Serbian Viktor Troicki on Sunday. The American hit 20 aces and saved both break points to improve to 3-4 against Troicki in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series. Isner, who is 9-1 in his past 10 matches, has won two titles in the past month: the Dell Technologies Hall of Fame Open in Newport and the BB&T Atlanta Open. He reached the Cincinnati final in 2013, beating Novak Djokovic and Juan Martin del Potro before falling to Rafael Nadal in the final. Isner will next meet a compatriot, either #NextGenATP Tommy Paul or...
