Yoshihito Nishioka

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Finalists Reaching for Greatness at Sunday @CitiOpen Finale

Posted by Admin on August 7, 2022
Posted in: ATP, Citi Open, Washington, WTA. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Finalists Reaching for Greatness at Sunday Citi Open Finale

Steve Fogleman in Washington

Three finals are on tap at Citi Open in Washington today after somewhat surprising Saturday action brought us to this conclusion. Wild card Nick Kyrgios advanced to today’s final with a 7-6(4), 6-3 takedown of Mikael Ymer of Sweden.

He’s had a good run in Washington but didn’t want to get ahead of himself contemplating a title or two as he and partner Jack Sock advanced to the doubles final.

“Regardless of how tomorrow goes in both finals, I think it’s a hell of an achievement,” he said. “In one week I think to make both finals is pretty special. You know, I’m super excited. It’s been a minute since I have played in a final, Wimbledon final, so, you know, I’m gonna just try and turn it around and get a win tomorrow. I’m just super proud of the work I have put in.”

The Curious Case of Yoshihito Nishioka continues in Washington with consistent deft play. On Saturday night, he came out fast while Rublev was rusty in the first set. The second set saw Rublev give up four breaks of serve to Nishioka and #96 moved on over world #8 Rublev, 6-3, 6-4.

Kaia Kanepi raced out to a 3-0 lead within eight minutes of “Ready, Play!” and she dominated Daria Saville in the first women’s semifinal yesterday, 6-3, 6-1 in 1:13. Saville needed a medical timeout late in the first set and never had a chance to establish any rhythm in the match as Kanepi overpowered her and dominated the pace,

I would expect Kanepi to attempt a similar start today against Liudmila Samsonova. Both of the women’s semifinals were disappointingly uncompetitive yesterday. Samsonova’s semifinal victory was a 6-1, 6-1 exhibition against an out-of-sorts lucky loser Xiyu Wang in 1:07. Wang was the only women’s semifinalist who had not yet played a match on Stadium court and it showed. Still, it was a very good week for Wang, and for Daria Saville as well.

Here’s to today’s Citi Open champions and I’ll see you in Cincinnati.

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Stormy Thursday Stops @CitiOpen Play; Double Dip of Tennis Today, Weather Permitting

Posted by Admin on August 5, 2022
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Stormy Thursday Stops Citi Open Play; Double Dip of Pro Tennis Today, Weather Permitting

Steve Fogleman in Washington

Mother Nature took the win at Rock Creek Park in Washington on Thursday, with some afternoon matches and all evening contests postponed as raging winds, hail and rain buffeted the hard courts of the Citi Open. Earlier in the day in the oppressive heat, even the wins were sloppy.

Mikael Ymer was clearly exhausted after advancing to the quarterfinals in his victory over Emil Ruusuvuori, 6-3, 6-7(3), 6-4 in 2:18. After the match, Ymer rested in his player chair on court for several minutes with an ice pack and bugged-out eyes. Security hauled him to the locker room as quickly as they could. The slopfest found both men being broken on serve 14 times. Don’t talk to me about the WTA.

“On court I felt okay today, but conditions are very tough,” Ymer said. “I think we are playing one of the toughest sports on this planet, because besides dealing with the heat, you also have to constantly like make so many decisions.”

Emma Raducanu advanced to the quarterfinals is less-than-convincing fashion, struggling mightily against Camilia Osorio, 7-6(5), 7-6(4) in 2:50, with the #2 seed racking up 9 double faults in the process. But she was fighting against not just Osorio, but the looming storm.

“Yeah, I think first we were pretty lucky to get it done before it started chucking it down,” she said. “You
always have that in your mind on the court, as well. You’re thinking of the rain, that’s going to come, because you see the clouds and it’s important not to let that affect you. You might want to rush things a bit.”

On a positive note, Liudmila Samsonova racked up 13 aces in a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 comeback win from favorite Alja Tomljanovic on Stadium Court. Xiyu Wang is sitting pretty after securing a 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 victory over Donna Vekic shortly before the thunder rolled in. She’ll sit back and wait for Tereza Martincova and Vika Azarenka to wear themselves before taking on the winner in the quarterfinals set for this evening.

And yes, your Yoshihito Nishioka photo of the day is posted below. He keeps on rolling through his DC opponents, this time a nail-biting 7-6(2), 7-6(1) triumph over 7 seed Karen Khachanov. Yesterday’s winners are the luckiest of the draw, since they’ll need to play only one match today. And that’s a tall order since the weather forecast predicts rain to begin mid-afternoon at the venue.

Doing double duty today are the winners of Kyrgios and Opelka, Tiafoe and Van de Zandschulp, Dimitrov and Korda, Rublev and Kressy, Rune and Wolf and Martincova and Azarenka.

This could be a very long night of tennis, or we could see another double header tomorrow to try to fit the schedule in for finals on Sunday. There are also storms forecast for Saturday, so buckle up.

Wild Wednesday in Washington Whittles the @CitiOpen Field

Posted by Admin on August 4, 2022
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Wild Wednesday in Washington Whittles the Citi Open Field

Steve Fogleman in Washington

If you like upsets, you’d have loved Wednesday in Washington. The Citi Open has been full of surprises and the midweek edition of the tournament found many players on the outside looking in at what could have been.

First up was Emil Ruusuvuori, the scourge of English spell-checkers everywhere. #46 in the world as the tournament began, he shocked #2 seed Hubert Hurkacz 6-4, 7-6(3).

“The first set, I wasn’t returning that well, but at the end of the first set, I was making first serves and that helped me,” he said after the win. The win set him up with a match against Mikael Ymer for a spot in the quarterfinals.

Ymer crashed the party of 15 seed Aslan Karatsev with a turnaround three set victory, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 win on Grandstand court and earned a date with the cutest little kid dressed as Andre Agassi for Halloween. I mean Emil Ruusuvuori.

Yoshihoto Nishikori looked out of gas after his two set victory in the first round but the plucky Japanese player stuck around long enough to empty the tank of 11 seed Alex De Minaur 3-6, 7-6(6), 6-2. He’ll face 7 seed Karen Khachanov at noon and I wouldn’t look past Yoshi if I were De Minaur.

Simona Halep was forced to retire with heat related illness, and Daria Saville upset #1 seed Jessica Pegula, 7-5, 6-4. “You know, I felt like it was really, really important to win the first set,” Saville said. “I thought that, like, for me it would have been really hard to be composed in the second set if I lost the first set. I would have been like, Oh, my God, this is a struggle here.”

Her struggle and Halep’s departure opens a massive hole in the top half of the women’s draw. One of Either Saville, Anna Kalinskaya, Kaia Kanepi or qualifier Rebecca Marino will find themselves in the final this Sunday.

As we head to Quarterfinals Friday, there are four scheduled women’s singles matches to determine the four remaining quarters berths today, and eight matches to whittle the men’s field down to size.

Heat Withers Opponents at @CitiOpen Tuesday as First Round Concludes

Posted by Admin on August 3, 2022
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Heat Withers Opponents at Citi Open on Monday As First Round Concludes

Steve Fogleman in Washington

You know what would be nice? If our Summer Series here in the States were in May or June like they are in Europe. I know they had record heat this summer over there, but it’s always roasting on this side of the Atlantic during the Citi Open, Canada, Cincinnati and the heat dome that is Flushing Meadows. That said, the heat seemed to play a factor at Rock Creek Park in Washington yesterday and it’ll be here all week.

Tereza Martincova was bageled in the first set of her first round win against qualifier Xinyu Wang. She took a bathroom break, returned 10 minutes later and recovered to win, 0-6, 6-4, 6-4.

Yoshihito Nishioka, always one to stop and greet the fans after a win, ran off of John Harris grandstand yesterday and headed straight for the showers like he’d suffered a loss. In fact, the highly perspiring Nishioka won, 6-4, 6-3, over a very dejected Jenson Brooksby and will face Alex DeMinaur in similar conditions this afternoon.

Emil Ruusuvuori suffered through the first set against Mackenzie McDonald before shocking the American in three sets, 1-6, 6-4, 6-4, in a match where it appeared the Mackster had it locked up in the later sets. Ruusuvuori gets Hubert Hurkacz this afternoon for a spot in the Round of 16.

Last night saw some promising players come up just short in their quest for the title in Washington. Dominik Koepfer took a first set tiebreak and kept it close before Karen Khachanov closed it out, 6-7(3), 7-5, 6-4. Qualifier Borna Gojo gave Botic Van de Zandschulp a rough ride in the first set and throughout the match as the Dutchman eked out a 6-7(6), 7-6(5), 6-4 finish.

Chris Eubanks bounced back from first set disappointment to topple France’s Benjamin Bonzi, 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 and Jack Sock thrilled the crowd on grandstand with a straight sets win over David Goffin, 7-6(4)-6-4.

Aussies Millman, De Minaur and Thompson Still In The Running @Sydneytennis

Posted by Admin on January 9, 2019
Posted in: ATP, Steen Kirby, Stockholm, Sydney. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Aussies Millman, De Minaur and Thompson Still In The Running at ATP Sydney
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

The Sydney 250 still has 3 of the 4 top seeds in the running as players seek points and form ahead of the Australian Open.

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Quarterfinals

Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Andreas Seppi

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The top seed Tsitsipas won his opening match against Guido Andreozzi and now faces a far tougher test against the veteran Seppi. Seppi has edged past Jeremy Chardy and Martin Klizan to reach this stage, and he’ll be highly motivated to play his best and try to win this tournament, given his AO expectations are far more muted. Tsitsipas is a rising star though and he’ll be tough to put away, I expect the favored Greek to reach the semis.

Diego Schwartzman vs Yoshihito Nishioka

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Schwartzman will be favored against Nishioka after an easy win in the last round. Nishioka qualified and has already won four matches including main draw wins against Ryan Harrison and Andrey Rublev. Both players are undersized ball strikers with punchy games. I’ll go for the upset here though, with Nishioka rising and redlining his game right now.

John Millman vs Gilles Simon

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Millman survived a stern test against Frances Tiafoe and then eased past Marton Fucsovics to reach this stage. The home favorite will be an underdog against Gilles Simon. Simon is 3-1 to start the season and should be in good shape to reach the semifinals in what will be a contest worth watching.

Alex De Minaur vs Jordan Thompson

Thompson has been in really good form since the end of last season, but De Minaur is the more talented Aussie and will be favored in this contest. ADM is 4-1 to start the season and has a real shot at lifting this title.

Semis
Tsitsipas d. Nishioka
De Minaur d. Simon

The top seed Tsitsipas is favored to lift this title, with De Minaur coming short for the second year in a row.

Final
Tsitsipas d. De Minaur

Japanese Favorites Kei Nishikori, Taro Daniel, and Yoshihito Nishioka Target 2018 ATP Tokyo Title

Posted by Admin on September 30, 2018
Posted in: ATP, Steen Kirby, Tokyo. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Japanese Favorites Kei Nishikori, Taro Daniel, and Yoshihito Nishioka Target 2018 ATP Tokyo Title
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

Both home and international talent feature at the ATP 500 Japan Open in Tokyo. Here is your look at all the upcoming action from Japan’s only ATP World Tour tournament.

Top Half:

Marin Cilic had a strong hard court summer, but he’ll get a tough start to the Asian swing as his section begins with J.L. Struff, and is then set to feature Jeremy Chardy/Damir Dzumhur in round 2, and a tough quarterfinal opponent, between Stan Wawrinka/Taylor Fritz or Denis Shapovalov/Hyeon Chung. Wawrinka has come back into form and I’ll back him against Fritz, a semifinalist in China last week, and Shapovalov/Chung, with Cilic still favored to advance from his section.

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Milos Raonic will be favored in section 2, the big serving Canadian faces a struggling Adrian Mannarino first, with either Robin Haase or qualifier Yosuke Watanuki up in round 2. I’ll back qualifiers Daniil Medvedev and Martin Klizan to win their first round matches, with Klizan, a finalist in St. Petersburg, defeating Steve Johnson, and Medvedev edging #4 seed Diego Schwartzman. Raonic over Medvedev is my pick for the section.

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Bottom Half:

Kevin Anderson will be favored in his first two matches against Matt Ebden and Frances Tiafoe/Max Marterer. Ebden has played well enough to suggest he has a shot against Anderson but he’s still the underdog. Nick Kyrgios should be favored against Shenzhen champ and home favorite Yoshihito Nishioka, and I’ll give him the edge, if focused and fit, against Richard Gasquet. Gasquet opens with Denis Kudla and he’s not in great form, Anderson over Kyrgios is my quarterfinal pick.

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Kei Nishikori‘s section has him starting out against countryman Yuichi Sugita, he should win that and also defeat Benoit Paire/Nicolas Jarry in round 2. Metz champ Gilles Simon has a tough match with Alex De Minaur, a semifinalist last week, first up. Simon should win that and also upset Stefanos Tsitsipas (or Taro Daniel), as his form is better than the young Greek. Nishikori over fellow veteran Simon should be the outcome of section 3.

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Predictions

Semis
Cilic d. Raonic
Nisihkori d. Anderson

I’ll back Kei at home against a host of bigger hitters, while Cilic or Raonic should be equally favored to emerge from the top half. This is a tough tournament to predict but Nishikori has the most at stake and should fight the hardest to win.

Final
Nishikori d. Cilic

Gilles Simon and Bernard Tomic Claim ATP Titles in Recent Weeks

Posted by Admin on September 30, 2018
Posted in: ATP, Chengdu, Metz, Shenzen, St Petersburg Open, Steen Kirby. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Gilles Simon and Bernard Tomic Claim ATP Titles in Recent Weeks
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

Four 250 level hard court stops took place on the ATP Tour over the past 2 weeks, producing four different singles winners who will be proud of their accomplishments for vastly different reasons.

ATP Metz

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Tour veteran Gilles Simon put together a surprising weak on home court in Metz, claiming his second title of 2018 7-6 6-1 against qualifier Matthias Bachinger. The win marks the first time Simon has won multiple ATP titles in a season since 2011. He dropped a set against Filip Krajinovic in the second round, but otherwise eased past Jiri Vesely, Richard Gasquet, and Radu Albot to reach the final.

Also a veteran, Bachinger took part in his first ever ATP final, coming through qualifying and then defeating Jaume Munar, Gregoire Barrere, Yannick Maden, and Kei Nishkori, his last two wins coming in three sets, with the stunning result over Nishikori one of the finest wins of his journeyman career.

The home nation swept the titles as Nicolas Mahut and Edouard Roger-Vasselin teamed up to defeat the Skupski brothers in the doubles final.

ATP St. Petersburg

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Austrian #1 Dominic Thiem balled out on hard courts claiming a third title for 2018 with a 6-3 6-1 routine victory against Martin Klizan in the St. Petersburg final. Thiem won four matches, dropping just a set in Russia. His wins came against J.L. Struff, Daniil Medvedev in a third set tiebreak, and Roberto Bautista Agut to reach the final.

Klizan had a good tournament as well, claiming wins against Evgeny Donskoy, Fabio Fognini, Denis Shapovalov, and Stan Wawrinka to reach the final, the final two wins coming in three set contests.

Matteo Berrettini and Fabio Fognini teamed up to win the doubles title against Jebavy/Middelkoop.

ATP Shenzhen

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Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka claimed his first ever ATP title 7-5 2-6 6-4 against Frenchmen Pierre-Hugues Herbert. The 23 year old has overcome a rash of injuries and in his first ATP final he was clutch against the more experienced Herbert. Like the other winner on the ATP Tour this week, Bernard Tomic, Nishioka came through qualifying to reach the main draw. In the main draw his wins came against Denis Kudla, Denis Shapovalov, Cam Norrie, and Fernando Verdasco, with Shapovalov and Verdasco taking three sets to defeat.

Herbert defeated Dusan Lajovic, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Albert Ramos, and Alex De Minaur to reach the final, needing three sets in his last two victories, including a nip and tuck win against ADM. The result is Herbert’s second ever ATP final.

Salisbury/Mclachlan defeated Lindstedt/Ram in the doubles final.

ATP Chengdu

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It’s been a long road back to this point for 25 year old Aussie Bernard Tomic, but he finally claimed another piece of ATP hardware winning his first title since 2015 6-1 3-6 7-6(7) against Fabio Fognini. Trailing in the tiebreak, Tomic had to produce both luck and skill to comeback for the win. He is now likely set to feature again at the higher level ATP tournaments as he had to come through qualifying where he dropped sets in two of his three matches, just to reach the main draw in this 250. In the main draw he edged Bradley Klahn and Lloyd Harris, then eased past Felix Auger-Aliassime, and Joao Sousa to reach the final.

Fognini has reached 4 ATP finals this season, he had a relatively smooth path against Ruben Bemelmans, Matt Ebden, and Taylor Fritz this week, though he did drop a set to Fritz.

Croatia’s Mate Pavic and Ivan Dodig defeated Nedunchezhiyan/Krajicek in the doubles final.

Kyrgios Upsets Isner to take 2016 @BBTAtlantaOpen Title

Posted by Admin on August 7, 2016
Posted in: Atlanta, ATP, BB&T Atlanta Open, Steen Kirby. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Kyrgios Upsets Isner to take 2016 BB&T Atlanta Open Title
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

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Nick Kyrgios came to the 2016 BB&T Atlanta Open with a mission, and he left as the champion, after upsetting the favored top seed John Isner on a hot and cloudy afternoon in Atlanta. Kyrgios prevailed in a pair of tiebreaks 7-6 7-6, and he was the player who had the advantage all match, as his aggressive play kept Isner on his back foot, and forced the American into some uncomfortable shots that he couldn’t connect on.

The young Australian now has a pair of ATP 250 titles this season, and despite his usual frustrations, he put on a comprehensive performance against the veteran Isner. Instead of playing in Rio, he’ll now have a week off to prepare for the rest of the Emirates US Open Series, and the US Open where he is a possible dark horse with his big serve.

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Isner actually got off to a decent start, generating three break point chances in Kyrgios first service game, but Kyrgios dug deep to hold, and forced break point chances against Isner in two more service games before the match went to a tiebreak. Kyrgios got way ahead in the tiebreak and didn’t look back taking it 7-3.

After Isner took a break and looked ready to go the distance for yet another Atlanta title, he was able to hold his serve all throughout the second set without facing a break point. Kyrgios got to 30-30 up 5-4 with Isner serving, and Isner had a break point chance to break Kyrgios for 6-5, but neither could convert. In the second set tiebreak, there were five straight minibreaks from 1-1. From 2-3 down in the tiebreak Kyrgios won five of the next six points with thunder booming in the distance to take the match. Isner looked unbeatable in Atlanta, but Kyrgios cracked the glass ceiling with his win. He’s the champion in his debut at the tournament.

In the doubles final, Molteni and Zeballos continued their tremendous week as they defeated Brunstrom and Siljestrom 7-6 6-4.

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Both Kyrgios and Isner had to come back in their semifinal matches. Kyrgios dropped the second set to Yoshihito Nishioka of Japan, but in the end the Japanese young gun couldn’t touch his serve. Nishioka succumbed to Kyrgios 6-3 3-6 6-3. Isner faced Reilly Opelka in a battle of two of the tallest players on the ATP tour. Despite a strong start for Opelka, he wilted in the third set as Isner kept forcing him to hold. Isner won 6-7 6-4 6-2, as Opelka’s serve quality declined as the match went on, and Isner only got stronger.

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Opelka and Nishioka Reach First Ever ATP Semifinals @BBTAtlantaOpen

Posted by Admin on August 6, 2016
Posted in: Atlanta, ATP, BB&T Atlanta Open, Steen Kirby. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Opelka and Nishioka Reach First Ever ATP Semifinals at 2016 BB&T Atlanta Open
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

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Young guns Reilly Opelka and Yoshihito Nishioka came away with resounding wins over their veteran opponents to reach their first career ATP semifinals, and setup contests against the #1 and #2 seeds at the 2016 BB&T Atlanta Open.

Opelka was dominant on serve, and defeated Donald Young 6-4 6-4. The new tallest player on the ATP World Tour won his first ever ATP main draw match this week, and his great form has carried him into the semifinals. Opelka got an early break, as Young continued his trend of having a slow start in matches. After the chair umpire fell ill, forcing a delay in the match, Opelka would go on to avoid some danger and take the opening set without being broken. In the second it was much the same story, Young got tight serving 2-2 and found himself broken. He failed to generate a single break point chance in the set, and Opelka served it out, as his height allowed him to spin serves over Young’s shoulder.

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Earlier in the day Nishioka dispatched Horacio Zeballos in just over an hour, by the same score of 6-4 6-4. The newly top 100 player will soon be into the top 70, as he broke Zeballos to open both sets, and didn’t face a break point the entire match. Not only was it a clinical performance for the Japanese player, Zeballos lacked any spark or passion in the match, compared to what he had shown earlier in the week when he was winning.

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Nishioka will face big server Nick Kyrgios, as Kyrgios outlasted Fernando Verdasco 6-4 6-7 6-3 in a match that went on longer than it should. Kyrgios hit 18 aces, and in the first set he was outpacing Verdasco, and playing at a rapid pace. Verdasco perhaps was dealing with a shoulder or neck injury, or he was struggling with his ball toss, as his first serve was weak on the day, and frequently just a kick serve that was under 100 mph. Kyrgios would go wide on return at times, but Verdasco couldn’t pounce on his opponents big serve, and his shots just weren’t clicking in the first set, as his forehand returns frequently just missed the line.

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The second set was a tight affair, Kyrgios had to save a pair of break points serving 3-3, and then failed to break when he had a chance in the next game. The match would go into a second set tiebreak, Kyrgios went off the boil in the second and appeared to lose focus, as Verdasco would fight on and force a third set. Verdasco couldn’t maintain the level needed to win the match though, Kyrgios broke early, fired himself up, and served his way through the rest of the match with ease to secure a hard fought three set victory. This is the second time in their careers that Verdasco and Kyrgios have played a three setter, and both times Kyrgios has prevailed on hard courts.

Top seed John Isner dominated young gun Taylor Fritz 7-5 6-4, as Fritz was physically struggling in his match. It’ll be Isner vs. Opelka in a battle of two of the ATP’s tallest players in the next round. Isner hit 20 aces, and was entirely unbothered on his serve. Despite Fritz fighting to save break points, he was eventually broken, and although Isner got tight and was broken back in a surprise, Fritz couldn’t force a tiebreak and Isner served it out after a second break. In the second set both players held serve until Fritz was broken, and things quickly concluded in a 38 minute second set. It’s simply hard to beat Isner on the fast courts of Atlanta.

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In doubles Molteni/Zeballos beat Eubanks/Kennedy, and Brunstrom/Siljestrom beat Monroe/Sitak. The Argentine pairing faces Raja/Sharan in the semis, while the Swedish pairing will face Demoliner/Garcia-Lopez.

Kyrgios And Verdasco Setup Quarterfinal Clash @BBTAtlantaOpen

Posted by Admin on August 5, 2016
Posted in: Atlanta, ATP, BB&T Atlanta Open, On Site, Steen Kirby. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Kyrgios And Verdasco Setup Quarterfinal Clash at 2016 BB&T Atlanta Open
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

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Three of the four Thursday singles matches were routine straight set affairs at the 2016 BB&T Atlanta Open. Nick Kyrgios made his highly anticipated debut in singles against fellow young gun Jared Donaldson in the night match, and he dominated proceedings 7-6 6-3. Kyrgios was strong on serve and he didn’t need much else. Kyrgios saved one break point in the first set, a first set that featured an hour long rain delay, and despite failing to break for the set 6-5 up when given two opportunities,  he eased his way through the first set tiebreak.

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Donaldson continued to be unable to bother Kyrgios on return, and his own serve wilted in the second set. He went down a double break as Kyrgios upped his game, eager to get off court. Despite getting one of the breaks back, Kyrgios went 5-3 up, and didn’t need to serve again, breaking Donaldson easily to take the match and reach the quarterfinals.

Kyrgios will face another fan favorite, veteran Fernando Verdasco in the quarterfinals. Verdasco broke Julien Benneteau four times in a resounding 6-1 6-3 win and he’s been playing great through two matches in Atlanta. Benneteau was dispatched in less than an hour, and never troubled Verdasco on serve, failing to generate a break point.

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The #4 seed Alexandr Dolgopolov wasn’t entirely fit this week, and it showed, as he struggled through a three set loss to the upstart Japanese player Yoshihito Nishioka. Nishioka prevailed 6-3 2-6 6-1, as the first and third sets were over in less than 30 minutes. Dolgopolov failed to produce break points against a breakable Nishioka in either set. The second set saw Nishioka suddenly lose form, but despite that, he didn’t waver heading into the third, and Dolgopolov’s fitness issues revealed themselves, with the Atlanta heat not helping. Dolgopolov and his teammate Sergiy Stakhovsky later withdrew from the doubles match they were scheduled to play against Raja/Sharan.

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Argentina’s Horacio Zeballos continued his great run of form in Atlanta this week, as he dispatched Tobias Kamke 6-1 6-4. Kamke got off to a slow start, and Zeballos, who isn’t a great server, wasn’t really under pressure in his service games throughout the match.

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In the lone doubles match played Thursday, Demoliner/Garcia-Lopez defeated Marray/Shamasdin.

Six matches on tap for Friday

The doubles matches on Friday will be Eubanks/Kennedy vs. Molteni/Zeballos, and Brunstrom/Siljestrom vs. Monroe/Sitak. in Singles Zeballos faces Nishioka, Verdasco will be opposite Kyrgios, and a pair of All-American battles will take place with Opelka facing Young, and Isner taking on Fritz in the late match.