Adrian Mannarino topped big-serving Sam Groth 7-6(6), 6-3 in the second round of the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships on Thursday. The sixth-seeded Frenchman was patient, overcoming a two-break deficit in the first set, then out-waiting a long rain delay before closing out the win in 92 minutes. Groth hit nine aces and won 22 of 25 first-serve points, but only landed 40 per cent of first serves and was broken three times by the consistent left-hander.

“His second serve is faster than my first serve, so you never know what to expect with him,” said Mannarino, who secured the opening tie-break 8-6 before the players were forced off the court due to inclement weather. “I think he got a little bit too relaxed on his serve at 5-1 and they key for me was his service game at 5-3. I was able to return well and then was really consistent in the second set after we came back from the rain delay.”

In the quarter-finals, Mannarino will face another strong server in the form of No. 3 seed Gilles Muller. Muller edged Victor Estrella Burgos 7-6(7), 6-4 to improve to 2-0 in the pair’s FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry. 

“I was up a break up twice in the [first] set and had many set points in the tie-break. It was frustrating that I couldn’t take those chances, but I told myself to stay calm. If I kept playing the way I was playing, I knew I would get more chances,” said Muller. The left-hander from Luxembourg, who fired 11 aces and went 3-for-10 on break points, has never dropped a set against the Dominican. The win was Muller’s first in Newport (1-3). He improved to 11-4 on grass this season and is into his fourth grass-court quarter-final of the year (‘s-Hertogenbosch, Queen’s and Nottingham).

Skupskis Win In Doubles

Brothers Ken Skupski and Neal Skupski, seeded third, overcame a late challenge from Brian Baker and Rajeev Ram to win 7-6(4), 3-6, 10-6. The Brits will face second seeds Groth and Chris Guccione in the semi-finals.

Adil Shamasdin and Jonathan Marray eased into the semi-finals with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Brydan Klein and Yuichi Sugita. Shamasdin/Marray did not hit an ace, but won 12 of 14 second-serve points and did not drop serve in the 46-minute win.

Seventh seed Martin Klizan raced through his second-round bout with wild card Louis Wessels 6-1, 6-1 as the bottom half of the German Tennis Championships 2016 singles draw vied for their quarter-final berths on Thursday.

The Slovak, already a champion this year (Rotterdam, d. Monfils), secured his place in the quarter-finals of this ATP World Tour 500 event in 50 minutes.

“I’m very happy, especially to come back from injury to make the quarter-finals for the first time [at the ATP World Tour 500-level] since Rotterdam,” said Klizan. “I feel very good and I look forward to playing tomorrow.”

The Slovak will next play Spain’s Daniel Gimeno-Traver. a 5-7, 7-6(4), 7-6(2) winner over qualifier Daniil Medvedev. The World No. 56 battled for more than three hours to down his Russian opponent by converting on his third match point.

Frenchman Stephane Robert also advanced, defeating Inigo Cervantes 7-5, 4-6, 6-1 in their second-round encounter. The 36-year-old Frenchman Robert is enjoying a resurgence this season, climbing back into the Top 100 of the Emirates ATP Rankings (No. 83) after dropping as low as No. 558 in 25 May 2015. He will next meet another Spaniard, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, for a place in the Hamburg last four.

Watch Robert Hot Shot

Garcia-Lopez booked his seventh quarter-final of 2016 after victory over Slovenia’s Grega Zemlja 6-2, 6-2 in 73 minutes. The eighth seed, bidding for his second semi-final appearance in 2016 (l. to Verdasco in Bucharest), improved to 2-0 in FedEx ATP Head2Head meetings with Zemlya.

“[Robert] has a good, flat backhand and it will be tough to take initiative during the points, but if I do so then I have chances to win,” said Garcia-Lopez of his next opponent. “I will try to do my best tomorrow.”

Seeds Fall In Doubles QFs
Top seeds Lukasz Kubot and Alexander Peya fell in two sets to Guillermo Duran and Jonathan Erich 6-2, 7-6(2) in an 84-minute affair, while third seeds Daniel Nestor and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi booked a berth in the quarter-finals with a 6-2, 4-6 [10-2] victory over Colin Fleming and Mariusz Fyrstenberg in 73 minutes.

The Western & Southern Open announced today the 43 highest-ranked men on the ATP World Tour are entered to play the event in August.

ESPN commentator Chris Fowler helped make the announcement at a media event held in downtown Cincinnati. Organizers also announced additional fan experience upgrades including an updated smartphone app, new Family Zone, and increased broadcast coverage.

The event will be held August 13-21 at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio.

The initial entry lists from each tour include 32 players – 15 men and 17 women – who have combined to win 43 titles this season.

“We’re excited to welcome this world class player field to Cincinnati for the Western & Southern Open in August,” said tournament director Andre Silva. “While we pride ourselves on having a great event full of food, drink and entertainment options, it’s the incredible talent and competition provided by these stars of the WTA and ATP World Tour that the fans expect each year.”

The men’s entries include Roger Federer, who has won a record seven Western & Southern Open titles; two-time champion Andy Murray and five-time finalist Novak Djokovic, who recently completed a career Grand Slam and needs only this title to complete a set of titles from each ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events.

The men’s field also includes six rising stars who are under the age of 24: 19-year-old Alexander Zverev (ranked 28), 21-year-old Nick Kyrgios (18), 22-year-olds Lucas Pouille (30) and Dominic Thiem (8), and 23-year-olds Bernard Tomic (19) and Jack Sock (26).

Tickets still available. To purchase, or for more tournament information, please visit www.wsopen.com.