Top seed Milos Raonic has delivered on his New Year’s resolution to move forward more in 2017, taking command at net in a 6-3, 6-2 opening-round win over Argentine Diego Schwartzman on Thursday at the Brisbane International presented by Suncorp. Raonic said that his decision to add former Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek to his coaching team was based in large part to a shared belief that tapping further upside in the Canadian’s game will most likely come from more forays to the net. Against Schwartzman, Raonic ventured to net 22 times, winning on 12 occasions. “I probably should have approached 12 more times and I probably should have won a few more,” said Raonic, who went 6/11 in the first...
World No. 1 Andy Murray battled past Gerald Melzer to secure a spot in the Qatar ExxonMobil Open quarter-finals. The Scot needed two hours and 23 minutes to overcome the Austrian’s effort, 7-6(6), 7-5 on Wednesday. “It was a really good match. I was happy with how I handled it. It wasn't easy because I was having to do a lot of defending and I wasn't able to impose myself as I would've liked because he was taking huge cuts every time he had the opportunity,” Murray said. “But the positive was in the important moments I stayed strong. I served pretty well when I needed to. I moved really well tonight, which is huge part of my game. So...
Defending champion Novak Djokovic cruised into the Qatar ExxonMobil Open quarter-finals on Wednesday with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Horacio Zeballos in 72 minutes. World No. 2 Djokovic broke No. 71-ranked Zeballos’ serve in the fourth game en route to opening up a 4-1 lead, then for a 3-2 advantage in the second set. It was his ninth match win (9-1 lifetime) at the ATP World Tour 250 tournament, where he beat Rafael Nadal for last year’s title. “You’re trying to start with the right intensity, and the start of the match today was definitely better than the first round,” said Djokovic. “Although I was quite pleasantly surprised with his aggressive play… it was a good, quality match. I thought...
Slovakian qualifier Jozef Kovalik, competing against a Top 10 player for the first time in his career, knocked out top seed and 2009-2010 champion Marin Cilic 7-6(5), 5-7, 7-5 on Wednesday in the Aircel Chennai Open second round. Kovalik, who finished at a year-end best No. 117 in the Emirates ATP Rankings last season, withstood 18 aces from Cilic and saved nine of 11 break points for victory in two hours and 48 minutes. He goes on to meet Tecnifibre-sponsored Daniil Medvedev, who defeated eighth seed Yen-Hsun Lu 6-4, 6-3 in 86 minutes. Elsewhere, third seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas swept past Steve Darcis 6-2, 6-0 in 64 minutes. He will next face Dudi Sela, a 6-2, 6-2 winner over Hyeon Chung....
Stan Wawrinka opened his 2017 ATP World Tour season on Wednesday night by beating World No. 29 Viktor Troicki 7-6(5), 6-4 in 90 minutes at the Brisbane International presented by Suncorp. Wawrinka is now 7-0 lifetime against Troicki in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series. “I'm quite happy with my level at the start the year,” said Wawrinka. “I think it was a good match, in general, for sure. A few up-and-down with focus and my [shot] choice during the game, but it's always tough to play against Troicki. “I'm just enjoying a new tournament that I’ve never played. [A] new facility, new court, new fans, new city, and that's what makes the difference. Especially at 31 years old, when you've...