Krajinovic Battles Into Hamburg Quarter-Finals
Sixth seed Filip Krajinovic fought past German wild card Philipp Kohlschreiber 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 at the Hamburg European Open on Wednesday to reach his third quarter-final of the season.
The Serbian, who also advanced to the last eight on home soil in Belgrade (l. to Berrettini) and Munich (l. to Struff) this year, hit nine aces and won 73 per cent (47/64) of his first-service points to defeat the former World No. 16 in two hours and 25 minutes.
[WATCH LIVE 1]The 29-year-old reached the quarter-finals in Hamburg in 2019 in his last appearance at the clay-court ATP 500 event. Krajinovic will next face top-seeded Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas or World No. 59 Dominik Koepfer as he aims to reach a first tour-level semi-final since his run to the last four at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament (l. to Monfils) in Rotterdam last February.
Kohlschreiber overcame Jaume Munar in the first round and was aiming to reach his second quarter-final (NOVENTI OPEN) of the season on Wednesday.
Countryman Laslo Djere also made his way into the quarter-finals after the Serbian defeated Brazilian qualifier Thiago Seyboth Wild 7-6(1), 6-1. The World No. 57 came back from a break down in the first set to advance in one hour and 48 minutes. Djere will next face third seed Nikoloz Basilashvili.