Two former Moselle Open champions, David Goffin and Gilles Simon, both advanced to the quarter-finals on Thursday. Second seed Goffin, who beat Joao Sousa for the 2014 title, lost just 10 of his service points in a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Jan-Lennard Struff in 67 minutes. The Barclays ATP World Tour Finals contender, who is currently placed No. 11 in the Emirates ATP Race To London, will next face eighth seed Nicolas Mahut. The 34-year-old Frenchman saved all three break points faced to beat Illya Marchenko 6-3, 6-4. Fourth seed Simon maintained his fine run of form at the ATP World Tour 250 tournament by beating Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-7(3), 6-3, 6-4 in two hours and 40 minutes. Simon, now 6-0...
Russian Mikhail Youzhny, the winningest player at the St. Petersburg Open, upended No. 2 seed Milos Raonic 2-6, 7-6(6), 6-4 in the pair's second-round match on Thursday. Youzhny was two points from defeat, down 5/2 in the second-set tie-break, but fought back to secure his first win in three FedEx ATP Head2Head meetings against the big-serving Canadian. It was the 33rd win in St. Petersburg for the 2004 champion, who also snapped a 10-match losing streak against Top 10 players. He will face Alexander Zverev in the quarter-finals. Despite the loss, Raonic remains in contention for a place in the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. He is No. 4 in the Emirates ATP Race To London behind Novak Djokovic, Andy...
Top seed Stan Wawrinka eased into the quarter-finals of the St. Petersburg Open on Wednesday, downing Lukas Rosol 6-3, 6-1 in the second round. The Swiss, who is coming off a title run at the US Open (d. Djokovic), lost only one first-serve point and did not drop a service game. Wawrinka hit eight aces in the 58-minute win. He last played in St. Petersburg in 2004, falling to Jean-Rene Lisnard in the final of the ATP Challenger Tour event. "I'm happy with my preparation for this tournament. I played at a good level for a first match, especially against Rosol, a player against whom I've played close matches this year," Wawrinka, who had a first-round bye, said. "I was...
Dominic Thiem moved closer to qualifying for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals on Wednesday with an opening win at the Moselle Open in Metz. The 23-year-old Austrian prevailed against German qualifier Peter Gojowczyk 7-5, 7-6(2) to avenge a previous straight-sets loss to Gojowczyk in Doha in 2014. Thiem had to retire from his most recent match, a fourth-round contest against Juan Martin del Potro at the US Open, because of a right-leg injury. But the World No. 10 moved freely and showed no signs of any lingering pain during his Moselle Open debut. The right-hander delivered 12 aces and didn't face a break point in the 88-minute win. Thiem is trying to qualify for the Barclays ATP World Tour...
The best stretch of Paolo Lorenzi's career continued on Tuesday at the St. Petersburg Open. The 34-year-old Italian saved two match points to outlast German qualifier Mischa Zverev 3-6, 7-6(6), 6-0 in two hours and six minutes to move into the second round at the Sibur Arena. Earlier this month at the US Open, Lorenzi reached the third round and took a set off World No. 2 Andy Murray. In July, the Rome native became the oldest first-time winner in ATP World Tour history by winning the Generali Open in Kitzbuhel at the age of 34 years, seven months (d. Basilashvili). Read What Lorenzi Had To Say After His First ATP World Tour Title Lorenzi, who's playing a career high...