ATP roundup: Tsitsipas shines in Marseille opener

[February 20, 2020] 

Sixth-ranked Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas ousted Sweden's Mikael Ymer in straight sets Wednesday to win his opening match at the Open 13 Provence in Marseille, France.

Tsitsipas, the No. 2 seed and defending champion, needed just 72 minutes to finish off a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Ymer. He had six aces and won 88 percent of his first-serve points (21/24); Tsitsipas has won 10 straight sets at the event since sweeping through his four matches in Marseille last year.

Tsitsipas will next face Canada's Vasek Pospisil in the quarterfinals Friday. Pospisil upset eighth-seeded Hubert Hurkacz of Poland 6-3, 6-4 on Wednesday.

In other Marseille action, Kazakh Alexander Bublik rallied past sixth-seeded Frenchman Benoit Paire 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 for a spot in the quarterfinals.

In the Round of 32, seventh-seeded Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime overcame Italy's Stefano Travaglia 6-7 (3), 7-6 (6), 6-3 and will next face Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert, a 7-6 (4), 6-4 winner over last year's runner-up Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan. Belarusian Egor Gerasimov defeated Austrian Dennis Novak 7-6 (3), 6-3.

Delray Beach Open

American Brandon Nakashima beat Great Britain's Cameron Norrie 7-5, 6-2 in his ATP Tour debut, advancing to the quarterfinals at Florida.

Nakashima, 18, will next face Japan's Yoshihito Nishioka, a 6-1, 6-2 winner over American Noah Rubin. Nishioka never faced break in the match.

Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas in action during the match against Canada's Milos Raonic. REUTERS/Issei Kato

Fourth-seeded American Reilly Opelka earned a quarterfinal berth with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over compatriot Mackenzie McDonald and will next face South Korea's Soonwoo Kwon, who survived a 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (0) marathon against American Ryan Harrison.

Rio Open

Chile's Cristian Garin stretched his winning streak to six with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Argentina's Federico Delbonis at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Garin, the No. 3 seed and winner at this month's Cordoba Open, will face Argentine Federico Coria in the quarterfinals. Coria outlasted Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz Garfia 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.

Another quarterfinal matchup will see Spaniard Pedro Martinez Portero take on Hungary's Attila Balazs. Martinez Portero dominated fellow countryman Pablo Andujar 6-1, 6-4, and Balazs rallied past Brazil's Thiago Monteiro 1-6, 6-1, 6-4.

--Field Level Media

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