ATP roundup: Top seeds advance to Dubai quarterfinals

 

[March 02, 2023]  Top seed Novak Djokovic struggled in his first-round match at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships but had no trouble a day later, defeating Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands 6-2, 6-3 on Wednesday in the United Arab Emirates.

Djokovic used four service breaks and cashed in on 91 percent of his first service points (20 of 22) to win in just 82 minutes and advance to the quarterfinals. The 35-year-old Serbian is a five-time winner of the ATP 500 tournament. He'll next face No. 5 seed Hubert Hurkacz of Poland.

Also advancing was No. 3 seed Daniil Medvedev, who ousted Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan 6-4, 6-2. After wins in Doha and Rotterdam, Medvedev is seeking his third straight tournament victory. Next up for the Russian is No. 8 seed Borna Coric of Croatia, who topped Thanasi Kokkinakis of Australia in three sets.

The third quarterfinal will feature No. 7 seed Alexander Zverev of Germany, the defending champion, against Lorenzo Sonego. The Italian knocked out No. 4 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada 7-6 (4), 6-4.

And advancing to the final quarterfinal were No. 2 seed Andrey Rublev of Russia and Botic van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands, who each needed three sets to move on. Rublev took out Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, while van de Zandschulp defeated Mikael Ymer of Sweden.

Movistar Chile Open

Jaume Munar saved all six break points he faced while rolling to a 6-4, 6-4 win over top-seeded Lorenzo Musetti of Italy in the second round at Santiago, Chile.

Munar got the lone service breaks of the match early in each set, and won 86.8 percent of his first-serve points (33 of 38). Munar entered the week with a 1-5 record through his first five events this year.

In other second-round action, Chile's Nicolas Jarry pushed past fourth-seeded Diego Schwartzman of Argentina 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (2). Brazil's Thiago Monteiro came back to beat Italy's Marco Cecchinato 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, and Germany's Yannick Hanfmann downed Spain's Roberto Carballes Baena 7-6 (6), 6-2.

Abierto Mexicano Telcel

Japan's Taro Daniel shook off two match points and pulled out a 7-5, 2-6, 7-6 (5) win over second-seeded Casper Ruud of Norway in the second round at Acapulco, Mexico.

With Daniel serving at 5-6 in the third set, Ruud couldn't take advantage of two match points. The set proceeded to a tiebreaker, and the serving player won each of the first 11 points before Ruud netted a forehand on the final point, ending the 2-hour, 58-minute marathon.

Next up for Daniel is a quarterfinal match against eighth-seeded Australian Alex de Minaur, who crushed Italy's Jacopo Berrettini 6-1, 6-0.

Four U.S. players advanced to the quarterfinals: third-seeded Taylor Fritz, sixth-seeded Frances Tiafoe, seventh-seeded Tommy Paul and Mackenzie McDonald. Fourth-seeded Holger Rune of Denmark and Italy's Matteo Berrettini also earned second-round wins.

--Field Level Media

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