Pouille Beats Simon In Brisbane 2017 Tuesday Highlights
Pouille Beats Simon In Brisbane 2017 Tuesday Highlights
Jan032017
Spanish star goes on to face Mischa Zverev
Rafael Nadal returned to the ATP World Tour for the first time in two-and-a-half months to beat 2012 finalist Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-3, 6-3 on Tuesday night at the Brisbane International presented by Suncorp. The Spanish superstar, who is making his debut at the ATP World Tour 250 hard-court tournament, will next face Mischa Zverev in the second round.
It was a battle between one of the ATP World Tour’s heaviest top-spinners, Nadal, versus one of flattest hitters, Dolgopolov, who gained the first break in the third game. Nadal responded by winning four straight games to wrap up the 36-minute opener and broke Dolgopolov in the fifth and ninth games of the second set. Dolgopolov had won the pair’s previous two meetings at the 2014 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells and at the 2015 Aegon Championships in London.
Zverev, who rose 121 spots to a 2016 year-end No. 51 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, overcame qualifier Alex De Minaur 6-3, 6-3 in 68 minutes during the evening session.
British number four Aljaz Bedene reached the second round of the Chennai Open with a 6-3 6-3 win over Spain’s Guillermo Garcia-Lopez.
The 27-year-old needed just one hour and 15 minutes to beat the unseeded Spaniard.
Bedene, who reached round three of the French Open last year, hit seven aces against the former world number 23.
He will next play Slovakia’s Martin Klizan, ranked 66 places above Bedene in the world rankings at 35.
British number one Johanna Konta recovered from a slow start to reach the quarter-finals of the Shenzhen Open in China.
The world number 10 lost the first set to American Vania King, ranked 77th and trailed 3-1 in the second.
But she regained her composure to beat her opponent 1-6 6-3 6-2.
Konta, who is the third seed at the event, will face either Kristyna Pliskova or qualifier Kai-Chen Chang in the last eight.
World number two Serena Williams made a successful return after almost four months out as she won her first-round match at the ASB Classic in Auckland.
The 35-year-old, who last week announced her engagement, defeated France’s Pauline Parmentier 6-3 6-4.
Williams had been on the sidelines with shoulder and knee problems since the US Open semi-finals in September.
“You always feel rusty for your first match,” she said. “But mentally I knew how to get it back and get in there.”
Williams had to wait an extra day to make her first appearance of 2017 after rain forced the postponement of her first-round match on Monday.
She took 74 minutes to beat the world number 69, serving eight aces, including one on match point, but also four double-faults in the swirling wind.
“It was so windy out there,” she added. “You really have to be ready to move your feet, so I went to what my coach told me and I was like ‘you know how to play in the wind, you’ve done it many times before’ so I just tried to adjust to it.”
Williams will next face compatriot Madison Brengle, the world number 74.
World No. 3 takes in sights before opening round match
Milos Raonic has arrived at the Brisbane International presented by Suncorp and is ready to make a statement in his first tournament of 2017.
But before he takes the court for his match of the season, the top seed and defending champion made time to take in the sights of this world-class city. Raonic boarded a CityCat cruise around the Brisbane River on Tuesday and met Adrian Schrinner, the city’s Deputy Mayor.
“It’s great to be back here. This is the most ideal way for us, as tennis players, to start off an Australian summer,” said Raonic. “Having five of the Top 10 players here is of great significance. It’s obviously a great show not only of the kind of support that we have here in Brisbane, but also the quality of the tournament and the fact that players believe this is the most ideal way to start. They feel the comfort of being here many years over and over again.”
Having received a first-round bye, the World No. 3 will play the winner between Sam Querrey and Diego Schwartzman. Raonic is even with Querrey in their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry at 2-2, but has won their past two matches.
The Canadian has thrived in Brisbane throughout his career, posting a 7-2 career record in his three appearances. He also finished runner-up at this event in 2015 (l. Federer).
This will be Raonic’s first match with 1996 Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek as part of his coaching team. The Dutchman will also work alongside Riccardo Piatti, who has been with the Canadian since 2014.
Qualifier Hyeon Chung began his 2017 ATP World Tour season with an upset over sixth seed and fellow NextGen star Borna Coric at the Aircel Chennai Open on Monday. The 20-year-old Korean topped the Croat 6-3, 7-5 in just over two hours. In the second round, Chung will face Dudi Sela, a 6-2, 6-2 winner over Damir Dzumhur.
Top seed Marin Cilic will begin his season against Jozef Kovalik after the 24-year-old Slovakian defeated Gastao Elias 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-2. Steve Darcis beat Nikola Mektic 6-2, 6-3 to set a second-round clash with third seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas.
Elsewhere, Moscow native Daniil Medvedev beat Thiago Monteiro 6-3, 6-3. The NextGen player awaits the winner of eighth seed Yen-Hsun Lu and Radu Albot.
In doubles, second seeds Guillermo Duran and Andres Molteni defeated Wesley Koolhof and Matwe Middelkoop 7-6(4), 6-4 to set a quarter-final meeting with Johan Brunstrom and Andreas Siljestrom, 6-2, 6-4 winners over Indian wild cards N.Sriram Balaji and Vishnu Vardhan.