Defending champion Gael Monfils finished off Michael Russell of the US with his 17th ace in winning 6-3, 6-3 to reach the Open Sud de France quarter-finals on Thursday.
Russell double-faulted to drop serve at 3-3 and lost the opening set. Monfils capitalized on a backhand error from Russell to break for a 3-1 lead in the second set.
Monfils next plays eighth-seeded Jarkko Nieminen, who dismissed French wild-card Paul-Henri Mathieu 7-6 (7/4), 6-1.
Photo: EPA
The top-seeded Tomas Berdych cruised past French qualifier Florent Serra 6-0, 6-2 in another second-round match.
Berdych, recovered from his grueling quarter-final loss to Rafael Nadal at the Australian Open, broke Serra five times to set up a match against Nicolas Mahut of France, who beat sixth-seeded Florian Mayer 7-6 (7/3), 6-3.
Mahut jumped out to 4-1 in the tiebreaker and took the first set when Mayer double-faulted. He broke the German twice in the final set to clinch victory.
ZAGREB INDOORS
AP, ZAGREB, CROATIA
Lukas Lacko of Slovakia ousted second seed Alex Bogomolov Jr of Russia 6-0, 6-7 (7/1), 6-1 to advance to the Zagreb Indoors quarter-finals on Thursday.
Bogomolov, a quarter-finalist last year, rallied after dropping the first set, but lost five games in only 14 minutes in the decider to bow out.
Third-seeded Mikhail Youzhny of Russia defeated Grega Zemlja of Slovenia 6-1, 6-3 to reach his third quarter-final in Zagreb.
Defending champion Ivan Dodig beat Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 4-6, 6-4, 6-4. The fourth-seeded Dodig will face No. 6 Marcos Baghdatis, the 2007 champion, who downed Lukasz Kubot of Poland 6-4, 6-2.
Another Croat, eighth-seeded Ivo Karlovic, won his second-rounder by hitting a dozen aces past Dudi Sela in beating the Israeli 6-3, 6-2.
VINA DEL MAR VTR OPEN
AP, VINA DEL MAR, CHILE
Argentine qualifier Federico Delbonis reached his second career ATP quarter-finals when he upset third-seeded Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil 6-2, 7-5 in the VTR Open on Thursday.
Delbonis’ opponent is scheduled to be Carlos Berlocq, who overwhelmed fellow Argentine Diego Junqueira 6-1, 6-0.
Second-seeded Juan Ignacio Chela of Argentina defeated countryman Horacio Zeballos 6-4, 7-6 (7/2), setting up a quarter-final against Brazilian Joao Souza, who upset Chile’s Fernando Gonzalez 6-3, 7-6 (8/6).
TAIWANESE EXITS: Fellow Australian Christopher O’Connell joined Tristan Schoolkate as a winner following his 6-1, 6-2 defeat of Tseng Hsin-chun Australian qualifier Tristan Schoolkate on Monday dispatched rising Brazilian talent Joao Fonseca 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 at the ATP Toronto Masters, ensuring a breakthrough into the world top 100. The 24-year-old from Perth moved to 98th in the ongoing live rankings as he claimed his biggest career victory by knocking out the ATP NextGen champion from November last year. Schoolkate, son of a tennis coach, won his first match over a top-50 opponent on his sixth attempt as he ousted the world No. 49 teenager from Brazil. The qualifier played a quarter-final this month in Los Cabos and won through qualifying for his
Top seeds Alexander Zverev of Germany and American Coco Gauff on Tuesday advanced to the third round of the Canadian Open after both players were pushed hard by their opponents. World No. 3 Zverev, playing in his first match since his first-round loss at Wimbledon, was far from his best, but emerged with a 7-6 (8/6), 6-4 win over Adam Walton under the lights in Toronto. Momentum shifted firmly in Zverev’s favor when he won a 52-shot rally in the first set tiebreak and he sealed the win on a double fault by the Australian in the second set. “It was a very
Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko upset top-seeded Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-4 on Saturday night to reach the National Bank Open quarter-finals. “Your support was incredible,” Mboko told the crowd in French after a chorus of “Ole, Ole, Ole” chants echoed around the venue. “I’m really happy to win today ... It’s incredible. I’m so happy to beat such a great champion.” Gauff dropped to 2-3 since winning the French Open. She followed the major victory with opening losses in Berlin and Wimbledon, then overcame double-fault problems to win two three-set matches in Montreal. Gauff had five double-faults on Saturday after having 23 in
Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen on Thursday said that he is staying with the Red Bull team next year, ending months of speculation over his future. “Some people just like to stir the pot, some people just like to create drama, but, for me, it’s always been quite clear, and also for next year,” the four-time champion said ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix. “I’m discussing with the team already the plans — the things that we want to change for next year, so that means that I’m also staying with the team for next year,” he said. Verstappen has a contract with
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