Fourth seed Jack Sock continued his flying start to 2017 at the ASB Classic in Auckland, moving into the final with a 6-4, 6-3 win over seventh seed and fellow American Steve Johnson. “It wasn’t easy. Stevie is such a good player and had such a good year last year. I was able to fortunately get a couple of breaks and that was enough,” said Sock. “I enjoy being out here, playing in front of big crowds and being on big stages. Obviously I want to win, but either way, I’ve played a lot of matches this week and my confidence is high.” The No. 23 in the Emirates ATP Rankings continues to excel in Auckland, having finished runner-up last...
Radek Stepanek, who is bidding to compete in the Australian Open main draw for the 14th time, earned a hard-fought 6-3, 6-7(4), 8-6 victory over Slovenian Blaz Kavcic in two hours and 41 minutes on Thursday in the second round of qualifying. The 38-year-old Stepanek will next look to beat John-Patrick Smith for his place in the 128-player main draw. Smith overcame Kenny De Schepper 6-4, 6-3. Second seed and #NextGenATP star Frances Tiafoe cruised past Yannik Reuter and will next take on American compatriot and No. 25 seed Tim Smyczek, who defeated Mohamed Safwat 6-4, 6-3. Tiafoe fell in the second round of qualifying in 2016, and is hoping to make his main draw debut. Sixth seed Bjorn Fratangelo...
American Steve Johnson upset countryman and friend John Isner 6-3, 4-7, 7-6(3) in two hours and 14 minutes on Thursday for a place in the ASB Classic semi-finals. Johnson won 85 per cent of his first-serve points and overcame 19 Isner aces. Isner netted a forehand volley to bring up three match points for Johnson in the third-set tie-break. He'd need only one, though, as he hit a forehand net-cord winner on the next point. Johnson, the seventh seed, will meet fourth-seeded American and last year’s finalist Jack Sock, who converted four of his 25 break point opportunities to beat Jeremy Chardy of France 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 in two hours and 10 minutes. Sock hit 12 aces to Chardy’s 14...
World No. 67 Daniel Evans recorded the biggest win of his career on Thursday at the Apia International Sydney for a place in his second ATP World Tour semi-final (2014 Zagreb). The 26-year-old Briton notched his first victory over a player in the Top 10 of the Emirates ATP Rankings (1-4 lifetime) after beating No. 8-ranked Dominic Thiem, the top seed, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 in two hours and two minutes. "It’s probably my best win," said Evans. "It was a good match. I fought really hard to try and get the win and come out on top. I tried to come forward a bit more in the second set, so I played the first set sort of on his terms....
Third seed and two-time defending champion Viktor Troicki extended his winning streak to 13 matches at Apia International Sydney on Wednesday after he struck 12 aces to beat Paolo Lorenzi 6-3, 6-4 in one hour and 33 minutes. He is now 15-3 at the tournament. He will now play fifth seed Philipp Kohlschreiber, who was a 7-5, 6-4 winner over wild card Jordan Thompson. Watch Highlights World No. 8 and top seed Dominic Thiem required two hours and 40 minutes to beat qualifier Gastao Elias 6-7(5), 6-3, 7-5 in the final match of the day to set up a clash against Daniel Evans, who defeated eighth seed Marcel Granollers 1-6, 6-3, 6-3. Second seed Pablo Cuevas reached the Sydney quarter-finals...