Kevin Anderson fended off two match points to spring the upset on #NextGen star Nick Kyrgios at the Chengdu Open on Thursday. In a battle of big servers, the South African surged back to book a quarter-final showdown with Viktor Troicki, 3-6, 7-6(6), 6-2. Anderson finished with 24 aces to the second-seeded Australian’s 21 and dropped just eight points on his first serve in the one-hour, 34-minute second-round affair. Anderson trailed a set and was staring down defeat when he dropped consecutive points to fall behind 4/6 in the second-set tie-break. But he then reeled off four straight points to level the match. Anderson served out the contest to book his fifth ATP World Tour quarter-final of the season. He...
Despite an ace count half his opponent’s, Bernard Tomic delivered a composed performance at crucial moments to end qualifier Ryan Harrison’s three-match Shenzhen Open winning streak on Thursday. The Australian No. 4 seed broke in the final game of the match to emerge with a 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 victory in just over two hours. It marks the 23 year old’s eighth ATP World Tour quarter-final this season and sets up a clash with Brazilian lefty Thomaz Bellucci, an earlier winner over lucky loser Thomas Fabbiano. Tomic withstood 20 aces from Harrison and won fewer first-serve points than the American, 68 per cent to 81 per cent. But the Aussie made bigger inroad’s on his opponent’s second serve to extend his...
Third seed Richard Gasquet tore through his Shenzhen Open second round on Wednesday, dismissing qualifier Andrew Whittington 6-1, 6-0 in just 51 minutes. The Frenchman lost only eight points on serve and broke Whittington five times as he sealed his 27th win of the season. The 30-year-old Gasquet is looking to get back on track after a disappointing recent stretch, which saw him forced out of Toronto with a rib injury and suffer a first-round exit to Kyle Edmund at the US Open. Next up for Gasquet will be Mischa Zverev, who reached his first ATP World Tour quarter-final in almost a year on Wednesday as he upset seventh seed Fabio Fognini 7-6(3), 6-4. Zverev, who came through qualifying, fired...
Third seed Grigor Dimitrov clinched his 200th tour-level victory on Wednesday at the Chengdu Open as he defeated Dusan Lajovic 7-6(1), 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals. Dimitrov has enjoyed a resurgence in form since joining forces with new coach, Dani Vallverdu. The 25 year old reached the quarter-finals in Toronto (l. to Nishikori), the semi-finals in Cincinnati (l. to Cilic) and the fourth round of the US Open (l. to Murray). [ALSO LIKE] He continued his winning ways at this ATP World Tour 250 tournament as he won 77 per cent of his service points to clinch victory in 90 minutes. “It's nice to start a tournament with a win like that. Dusan is a good player,” Dimitrov said. “I was...
#NextGen star Karen Khachanov powered into the second round of the Chengdu Open on Tuesday as he ousted seventh seed Joao Sousa 7-6(3), 6-3. The 20-year-old Russian advanced in 77 minutes, firing seven aces and converting two of his three break points. “It’s a very good match for me," said Khachanov. "I’m very happy with my performance. I like the court, I like the crowd, so I was enjoying playing the match." Khachanov reached a career-high No. 81 in the Emirates ATP Rankings earlier this month after qualifying at the US Open and progressing to the second round (l. to Nishikori). The right-hander also reached his second ATP World Tour quarter-final in July in Kitzbuhel. [ALSO LIKE] Khachanov goes on...