Kyle Edmund booked his place in a fourth tour-level quarter-final of the year on Wednesday at the Millennium Estoril Open. The third-seeded Briton proved to be too strong for 19-year-old Australian wild card Alex de Minaur 6-2, 7-5 in one hour and 37 minutes. De Minaur worked his way back from a 2-4 deficit in the second set, but had his serve broken in the 11th game when he hit a backhand slice wide at 15/40. Edmund calmly closed out to love for his 12th match win of 2018, which includes a runner-up finish at the Grand Prix Hassan II (l. to Andujar) and an Australian Open semi-final exit (l. to Cilic). Edmund will next face Joao Sousa, who saved...
Serbia’s Laslo Djere reached the BMW Open by FWU quarter-finals for the second successive year on Wednesday, defeating third-seeded Andreas Seppi 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-3 in two hours and 16 minutes. Djere trailed by two breaks of serve in the first set, before securing six straight games to take a one-set lead. The Italian levelled the match, winning a tight second set, but Djere regained control with a crucial break of serve in the eighth game of the decider. The World No. 110 entered Istanbul on a 10-match losing streak, with his last win coming in the opening week of the season at the Tata Open Maharashtra against Marius Copil. Djere will meet qualifier fifth seed Paolo Lorenzi for a place...
Portugal’s Joao Sousa secured his first win in four visits to the Millennium Estoril Open on Tuesday, defeating eighth seed Daniil Medvedev 7-6(1), 7-5. The World No. 68 recovered from a break down in the first set, before reeling off six consecutive points from 1/1 in the tie-break to establish a one-set lead. Once more, the Guimaraes-born star encountered similar issues early in the second set. Sousa fought back from behind twice, before breaking for a 6-5 lead in the 11th game and comfortably serving out the win. The 29-year-old has now won 11 of his past 15 tour-level matches, which includes a run to the Grand Prix Hassan II semi-finals (l. to Andujar). Sousa will meet Portuguese wild card...
Lleyton Hewitt made a winning start to his latest return to the ATP World Tour at the Millennium Estoril Open on Tuesday. The former World No. 1, alongside countryman Alex de Minaur, defeated second seeds Raven Klaasen and Michael Venus 6-4, 6-4 to advance to the quarter-finals in Portugal. Hewitt is appearing for the third time in doubles action this season, after appearances at the Brisbane International presented by Suncorp and the Australian Open. Hewitt and De Minaur conceded just three points behind their first serves in the first set and converted their only break point of the second set to clinch victory in 66 minutes. The Aussie duo will face Great Britain’s Kyle Edmund and Cameron Norrie for a...
Four Germans, led by three-time former champion Philipp Kohlschreiber, delighted Munich fans with first-round victories on Tuesday at the BMW Open by FWU. Sixth seed Philipp Kohlschreiber was solid on serve and withstood 15 aces from Ivo Karlovic of Croatia for a 7-5, 6-4 victory in 76 minutes. The three-time former champion — 2007 (d. Youzhny), 2012 (d. Cilic) and 2016 (d. Thiem) — won 83 per cent of his first-service points against 39-year-old Karlovic and now challenges fellow German Mischa Zverev, who beat Andreas Haider-Maurer of Austria 6-4, 6-3 in 72 minutes. Jan-Lennard Struff knocked out compatriot and qualifier Daniel Masur 7-6(1), 6-4 in 87 minutes for a clash against another German, Yannick Maden. Maden saved two match points...
