Cobolli bounces back in Almaty
Third seed Flavio Cobolli earned victory on his Almaty Open debut Wednesday, when he moved past Rinky Hijikata 6-4, 7-5 to end his brief losing run on the Tour.
After defeating Andrey Rublev in Beijing, the Italian suffered consecutive defeats, falling to Learner Tien at the ATP 500 and then Jaume Munar in Shanghai. However, he looked close to his best against Hijikata, striking 21 winners and committing just seven unforced errors to advance to the quarter-finals after 79 minutes.
Cobolli has enjoyed a standout year, winning titles in Hamburg and Bucharest. The 23-year-old is currently No. 22 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings but would return to the Top 20 with a title run in Almaty, where he will next face James Duckworth.
Australian qualifier Duckworth upset seventh seed and last year’s finalist Gabriel Diallo 7-6(3), 6-7(3), 6-4 for the biggest win of his season. The World No. 138 did not face a break point en route to his win, according to Infosys ATP Stats.
Earlier, Shintaro Mochizuki defeated Arthur Cazaux 6-4, 6-4 to earn his third tour-level win of the season. The 22-year-old is up three spots to No. 99 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings and will hope to break the Top 100 for the first time. He will next play fourth seed Luciano Darderi.
Alex Michelsen snapped a five-match losing streak to reach the second round. The American, who had not won a match since Cincinnati in August, downed Beibit Zhukayev 6-2, 6-3 and will next meet Aleksandar Vukic.
“I am pleased with my level,” Michelsen said. “He is a dangerous player, has a big serve. I am super happy to get the win and super happy to be in Almaty for the first time.”
Jan-Lennard Struff also advanced, clawing past Mackenzie McDonald 2-6, 6-3, 6-4. The German struck 25 winners to improve to 2-0 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series against the American. Struff will next face top seed and defending champion Karen Khachanov. Frenchman Corentin Moutet eliminated home favourite Alexander Shevchenko 7-5, 6-3. Moutet was a semi-finalist last month in Hangzhou.
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