Dustin Brown, now at a career-high No. 68 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, continued his good form with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Paul-Henri Mathieu on Tuesday at the Moselle Open. The German, fresh off a runner-up finish at the ATP Challenger event in Szczecin, fired 15 aces and capitalised on four of his six break point chances to advance to the second round in Metz. Brown will next face Julien Benneteau for the first time. French qualifier Vincent Millot upset compatriot and seventh seed Benoit Paire 6-4, 6-3, while fellow qualifiers Peter Gojowczyk and Nikoloz Basilashvili were also victorious over Nicolas Almagro and Gregoire Barrere respectively. The German Gojowczyk will next face top seed Dominic Thiem, while Basilashvili will...
Julien Benneteau scored his sixth singles win of the season on Monday with an upset against fifth seed Martin Klizan to kick off the 14th Moselle Open in Metz, France. Benneteau beat the left-handed Slovakian 6-2, 6-1 in 56 minutes to move into the second round in his home country. The 34-year-old has posted a 13-9 doubles record this season but has limited his singles matches since undergoing abductor surgery on 9 June 2015. Benneteau, ranked No. 238 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, needed a wild card to get into the Moselle Open. [ALSO LIKE] But he seems to have hit his stride in recent months. Benneteau reached the quarter-finals in Abierto Mexicano Mifel and the second round at the...
In a battle of #NextGen players, German Alexander Zverev earned the better of home favourite Karen Khachanov at the St. Petersburg Open on Monday, day one of the indoor ATP World Tour 250 tournament in Russia. Fifth seed Zverev moved into the second round with a 7-6(3), 6-4 win against the 20-year-old Khachanov. Zverev won 71 per cent of his service points and saved one of two break points faced. Khachanov, a wild card entry, erased the lone break point he faced during the first set, but was broken twice during the second set. The Moscow native had won four of his five previous matches after qualifying and reaching the second round of the US Open. The 6'6” right-hander beat...