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Wawrinka Enjoys Home-Court Advantage In Geneva

  • Posted: May 23, 2018

Wawrinka Enjoys Home-Court Advantage In Geneva

Two-time defending champion will next meet Hungary’s No. 1

Nothing quite like returning home to make you feel good, is there? Swiss Stan Wawrinka reached his fourth consecutive Banque Eric Sturdza Geneva Open quarter-final on Wednesday, beating American Jared Donaldson 6-3, 6-4 in 68 minutes.

You May Also Like: Fritz, Isner Lead American Charge In Lyon

Wawrinka, who endured two knee surgeries last August, controlled the second-round contest, never facing a break point and twice breaking Donaldson, who reached his maiden ATP World Tour semi-final in March (l. to Anderson) at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC, an ATP World Tour 500 event.

“I’m happy with my match today. I felt good out there. This will be the first time in a while that I play back-to-back matches. I like to play in front of the Swiss crowd and the fans have always given me great support here,” Wawrinka said.

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Wawrinka had lost his clay-court season debut to Steve Johnson of the U.S. at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome last week, but he looked fresh and agile as he attacked the 2017 Next Gen ATP Finals qualifier. The 33-year-old right-hander improved to 4-5 on the year and 10-1 in Geneva. He will next meet Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics, who beat #NextGenATP American Frances Tiafoe 7-6(5), 6-4.

Second seed Fabio Fognini, a Rome quarter-finalist a week ago, came back to beat Noah Rubin of the U.S. 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-2.

“It’s always tough to start from the second round and play your first match…He was playing good,” Fognini said. “I’m happy because tomorrow I have another chance to play here, quarter-final and try to improve my game.”

Italy’s No. 1 will next meet Tennys Sandgren of the U.S., who defeated Mirza Basic of Bosnia and Herzegovina 6-3, 6-2. Seventh seed Italian Andreas Seppi also advanced, dismissing Spanish qualifier Bernabe Zapata Miralles 7-5, 6-3. Seppi will next face Peter Gojowczyk of Germany.

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Fritz, Isner Lead American Charge In Lyon

  • Posted: May 23, 2018

Fritz, Isner Lead American Charge In Lyon

Miami champion Isner to face Norrie for semi-final spot

#NextGenATP American Taylor Fritz picked up his second win of the season against compatriot Jack Sock, No. 15 in the ATP Rankings, to reach the Open Parc Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Lyon quarter-finals on Wednesday. Fritz hit eight aces and swept the third-seeded Sock 7-6(6), 6-2 in 92 minutes.

The 20-year-old Fritz also beat Sock at the clay-court Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship last month en route to his second ATP World Tour semi-final. Fritz is in fourth place in the ATP Race To Milan, which will determine seven of the eight players who compete at the Next Gen ATP Finals, to be held 6-10 November in Milan. The eighth player will be determined by an all-Italian qualifying tournament.

Fritz will look to reach his third ATP World Tour semi-final on Thursday when he faces Serbian Dusan Lajovic. The Mutua Madrid Open quarter-finalist (l. to Anderson) beat qualifier Filip Horansky 6-4, 7-5 to notch his 10th tour-level match win this season.

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Second seed John Isner overcame a tough second-round challenge to battle past Radu Albot 7-6(3), 6-3. The Miami Open presented by Itaú champion saved a set point at 5-6 (30/40) in the first set, before taking a one-set lead and clinching the only break of the second set to advance after one hour and 37 minutes. The 33-year-old now leads his FedEx ATP Head2Head series with Albot 2-1, having split their two previous encounters in the U.S. earlier this year. 

Isner will face Great Britain’s Cameron Norrie in the quarter-finals. The 22-year-old won 83 per cent of first-service points to defeat Germany’s Maximilian Marterer 6-1, 6-4 in 61 minutes.

Did You Know?
This week, Isner is bidding to reach his fourth ATP World Tour final on clay. The American won his only clay-court title at the 2013 Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship (d. Almagro) after finishing as runner-up in 2012 (l. to Monaco). Isner reached his first final on clay in 2010, losing to countryman Sam Querrey in Belgrade.

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Watson loses to Hungarian qualifier in Nuremberg

  • Posted: May 23, 2018

Heather Watson’s run at the Nuremberg Cup came to an end with a straight-sets defeat in round two to a qualifier ranked 117 places below her.

The Briton lost 6-3 6-3 to world number 203 Fanny Stollar from Hungary.

Watson lost her opening service game but although she broke back, she was broken again as Stoller, 19, made it 5-3 and then took the opening set.

Watson then dropped her serve twice in the second set to trail 4-1 and was unable to break back.

Meanwhile, British number five and world number 180 Gabi Taylor made it through the first round of French Open qualifying after beating China’s Jing-Jing Liu 7-5 6-0.

It is her first attempt to qualify for an overseas Grand Slam and she will next face seventh-seed Mariana Duque-Marino from Colombia, who was pushed all the way by Britain’s Katie Boulter before going though 7-6 (7-5) 7-5.

Eugenie Bouchard, the 2014 French Open semi-finalist who has dropped down to 167th in the world, retired injured from her match against Slovenia’s Dalila Jakupovic with the Canadian trailing 0-6 1-2.

But 2010 champion Francesca Schiavone is still in with a chance of making the main draw after the 37-year-old Italian, now ranked 265, defeated Bouchard’s compatriot Carol Zhao 6-4 3-6 6-3.

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Britain's Norrie into Lyon Open quarter-finals

  • Posted: May 23, 2018

Britain’s Cameron Norrie reached the quarter-finals of the Lyon Open with a second straight-set win in a row.

The 22-year-old, ranked 102 in the world, beat Germany’s Maximilian Marterer, the world number 69, 6-1 6-4.

The British number three will next face either big-serving American John Isner, the tournament’s second seed, or Romania’s Radu Albot.

Norrie controlled the opening set and earned the break in the second, sealing the win with his first match point.

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