By Field Level Media
Oct 22 (Field Level Media) – Seventh-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas needed just over an hour to dispatch Kazakhstan wild card Mikhail Kukushkin 6-1, 6-2 and reach the Almaty Open quarterfinals on Wednesday in Kazakhstan.
Tsitsipas fired eight aces and converted four break points, ending the final tournament of 38-year-old Kukushkin’s career. The Greek will next face James Duckworth after the Australian upset No. 2 seed Luciano Darderi of Italy 7-5, 7-6 (7). Duckworth blasted 17 aces, won 88% of his first-serve points and never faced a break point until the second set.
Fourth-seeded Andrey Rublev of Russia also exited, falling 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 to France’s Adrian Mannarino. Italy’s Mattia Bellucci added another seeded upset by defeating No. 6 Tomas Martin Etcheverry of Argentina 7-6 (5), 2-6, 6-4. Georgian qualifier Nikoloz Basilashvili beat Argentina’s Facundo Diaz Acosta 6-2, 6-4, while Tomas Machac of the Czech Republic routed Kazakhstan wild card Zangar Nurlanuly 6-2, 6-0.
BNP Paribas Fortis European Open
Third-seeded Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina reached the quarterfinals in Brussels by taking down American lucky loser Martin Damm 6-4, 7-6 (4).
Cerundolo recorded 12 aces and saved six of seven break points while committing 20 unforced errors to Damm’s 36. He will meet French qualifier Clement Chidekh, who followed Tuesday’s upset of No. 7 Botic van de Zandschulp by beating Great Britain’s Jacob Fearnley 7-6 (4), 6-2 for his first ATP Tour quarterfinal.
Eighth-seeded Mariano Navone of Argentina was eliminated by the Netherlands’ Tallon Griekspoor, 7-6 (4), 7-5. Belgian wild card David Goffin extended the final tournament of his career by rallying past Swiss lucky loser Remy Bertola 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Damir Dzumhur defeated Croatia’s Dino Prizmic 7-6 (5), 2-6, 6-2, while Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff handled Belgian lucky loser Gauthier Onclin 6-4, 6-2.
Grand Prix Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes
Fourth-seeded Tommy Paul survived a three-set battle with France’s Benjamin Bonzi, prevailing 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-3 to advance to the quarterfinals in Lyon, France.
The American piled up 17 aces and did not lose serve in the match. He will face another Frenchman, Corentin Moutet, who followed his marathon victory over seventh-seeded Ugo Humbert by defeating fellow countryman Felix Balshaw 6-4, 6-4. Moutet saved the only break point he faced in the 87-minute victory.
Sixth-seeded Lorenzo Musetti of Italy eliminated 17-year-old French wild card Moise Kouame 6-4, 6-4. Swiss wild card Stan Wawrinka, 41, outlasted Spain’s Martin Landaluce 6-3, 6-7 (2), 7-6 (5) in two hours, 46 minutes. Wawrinka hammered 16 aces and never dropped serve, saving all four break points he faced. He will next meet top-seeded Flavio Cobolli of Italy.
(–Field Level Media)
