Next Gen ATP player Daniil Medvedev marked his Montpellier debut at the Open Sud de France with a 6-2, 7-6(3) triumph over Tobias Kamke on Tuesday. The 20-year-old Russian, who reached a maiden ATP World Tour final at the Aircel Chennai Open last month, prevailed in straight sets to earn a contest with eighth seed Fernando Verdasco. The Spaniard put in an emphatic performance to move past Gregoire Barrere 6-2, 6-1. [ALSO LIKE] Great Britain’s Aljaz Bedene defeated another Next Gen ATP player, Borna Coric, 7-5, 4-6, 6-1, setting a second-round match-up with another rising star Alexander Zverev. Benoit Paire, 2013 finalist, managed to stifle the threat of 20-year-old Karen Khachanov in a 7-6(4), 6-4 battle. Paire has built on his...
Rajeev Ram ensured it was a day for the underdogs in the first round of the Ecuador Open on Tuesday. The unseeded American fought back from a set and a break down to stun the No. 5 seed Alexandr Dolgopolov 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-3. Dologopolov, a former World No. 13 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, served for the match after breaking for 6-5 in the second set before Ram swung momentum in his favour to secure his first victory over the Ukrainian. “I think I was playing quite solid,” Dolgopolov said. “I was serving for the match and got a bit unlucky in that game. “He played really well and hit a few winners and then it was a tie-break and...
Gilles Muller safely navigated through his opening match at the Garanti Koza Sofia Open on Tuesday to book a second-round encounter with Mikhail Youzhny. The fifth-seeded Muller progressed to the 2016 semi-finals in Bulgaria and ignited his title charge with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over qualifier Mathias Bourgue. Youzhny, ranked No. 89, prevented Marko Tepavac from a debut ATP World Tour win, navigating past the Serbian 7-6(2), 6-4. [ALSO LIKE] Qualifier Cedrik-Marcel Stebe took advantage of his main-draw opportunity by defeating Teymuraz Gabashvili 2-6, 6-0, 6-1. The World No. 406’s reward is a contest with reigning champion Roberto Bautista Agut. Eighth seed Martin Klizan overcame Russia’s Andrey Kuznetsov 6-0, 7-6(4), whilst top Dutchman Robin Haase was too strong for home...
Former World No. 8 Janko Tipsarevic took a step closer to returning to the Top 100 on Monday with a first-round win against Spaniard Daniel Gimeno-Traver at the Ecuador Open. The Serbian wild card advanced when Gimeno-Traver retired down 1-4. The 32-year-old Tipsarevic started the year at No. 144 in the Emirates ATP Rankings but has climbed to No. 101 after winning back-to-back ATP Challenger Tour titles in Bangkok last month. He hasn't been inside the Top 100 since April 2014 when he was No. 94. [ALSO LIKE] Tipsarevic, who's playing in his first ATP World Tour tournament since Moscow last October, will meet 2016 finalist Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil in the second round. Austrian Gerald Melzer hit 14 aces...
Frenchman Jeremy Chardy upset seventh seed Marcel Granollers 6-0, 3-6, 6-3 on Monday to start the Open Sud de France in Montpellier. The 29-year-old Chardy saved seven of nine break points against Granollers and now leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head series 3-2.
Chardy is assured of meeting a fellow Frenchman in the second round, either Paul-Henri Mathieu or lucky loser Vincent Millot.
Dustin Brown, a semi-finalist a year ago, improved to 5-3 lifetime in Montpellier with a 7-6(4), 6-3 victory against Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez. The German's win booked a second-round showdown with top seed Marin Cilic.
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