Tennis News

Dominic Inglot and Robert Lindstedt advanced to the semi-finals of the Shenzhen Open by downing James Duckworth and John Millman 6-4, 6-3 on Wednesday. The top seeds won 20 of 22 first-serve points in the 63-minute match and have yet to drop a set this week. Inglot and Lindstedt are looking to double their ATP World Tour title haul, having won their first team title in Winston-Salem in August.

Elsewhere, wild card Mao-Xin Gong of China gave the locals plenty to cheer about on Wedesday, teaming up with New Zealander Michael Venus to defeat Adrian Mannarino and Lukas Rosol 6-1, 6-7(4), 12-10. Gong and Venus saved all four break points faced in the 64-minute match. They will take on fourth seeds Julian Knowle and Oliver Marach in the quarter-finals. The Austrians had defeated Ricardas Berankis and Denis Istomin 6-4, 7-5 in their opening match.

Seeded Teams Survive In Kuala Lumpur

The second and third-seeded teams were in action on Wednesday in Kuala Lumpur, and both needed Match Tie-breaks to advance to the quarter-finals.

No. 2 seeds Treat Huey and Henri Kontinen, who took home the St. Petersburg title last weekend, overcame Marcus Daniell and Marcelo Demoliner 4-6, 6-2, 10-6 in 71 minutes. Huey and Kontinen dropped serve in the first game of the match to concede the opening set, but went 2-for-2 on break points in the second set to force a Match Tie-break. Their quarter-final foes will be Santiago Gonzalez and Philipp Petzschner.

Third seeds Eric Butorac and Scott Lipsky also mounted a successful rally, winning 6-7(7), 6-1, 11-9 against Aliaksandr Bury and Andreas Siljestrom. The Americans went down a set and a break, but roared back with three breaks to secure the second set. In the Match Tie-break, Butorac and Lipsky won the next two points from 9/9 to set up a quarter-final meeting with Frantisek Cermak and Radek Stepanek, who battled past Wesley Koolhof and Matwe Middelkoop 6-4, 3-6, 12-10.

Malaysian Open (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)

Feliciano Lopez and Vasek Pospisil tried out traditional Malaysian cooking at the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel Kuala Lumpur. The duo cooked up a delicious dish with chicken and rice called “Nasi Goreng Durian”.

“It was fun,” said Lopez. “I really enjoyed it, but I think I have to improve my abilities in the kitchen.”

“It’s my second time cooking, but I’m not a very good chef,” added Pospisil. “I’ve had some nice local dishes [in Kuala Lumpur]. It’s one of the reasons I like coming back here; the food is delicious.”

Lopez, along with David Ferrer, also brought cheer to children at the KPJ Damansara Specialist Hospital. The Spaniards participated in a friendly match of mini tennis with hospital staff after bringing gifts to kids in the children’s ward. Read & Watch

Fifth seed Viktor Troicki and seventh seed Nick Kyrgios visited Kuala Lumpur’s Skyrides Festivals Park, where a helium balloon theme park is one of the various attractions. The pair also took a boat ride on the scenic Putrajaya Lake. Read & Watch

Grigor Dimitrov and Ferrer tried their hands at musical instruments at the Malaysia Tourist Centre.

Shenzhen Open (Shenzhen, China)

Marin Cilic toured the Juan Carlos Ferrero Academy and had a great time doing tennis drills with around 50 kids.

Tuesday night, Berdych, Cilic, Robredo, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez and Robert Lindstedt were among those to attend the player party on the 40^th floor of the Shangri-la. The guests enjoyed great views, a band and delicious food, and left their handprints (literally) in a piece of artwork.

Berdych, Robredo, Cilic and Garcia-Lopez also participated in autograph sessions with local Shenzhen fans at the tournament.

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Seventh seed Nick Kyrgios surged into the quarter-finals of the Malaysian Open, Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday as he dismissed Japan’s Tatsuma Ito 6-3, 6-2.

The Australian, whose mother is Malaysian, wrapped up victory in 55 minutes, firing 12 aces and winning 75 per cent of his service points. The 20-year-old Canberra native is through to his first ATP World Tour quarter-final since April, when he went on to reach his first final in Estoril (l. to Gasquet).

“I feel good,” said Kyrgios. “I came out pretty strong in this match. In his first service game I made every return and got the break, so I was comfortable from the get-go and thought I played well today.”

Kyrgios goes on to challenge third seed Ivo Karlovic, who struck 18 aces as he battled past Nikoloz Basilashvili in one hour and 47 minutes. The Croat is inching ever closer to overtaking Goran Ivanisevic’s record ATP World Tour aces tally of 10,237. Karlovic currently trails his countryman by 48 aces.

“It’s going to be tough,” said Kyrgios, looking ahead to the Karlovic clash. “Whenever you play Ivo it’s going to be tough. His serve is the best in the game. I know what I’ve got to do to look after my serve and I know I’m going to have a chance somewhere, so I’ve got to be ready.”

Benjamin Becker is through to his first ATP World Tour quarter-final of the season after upsetting sixth seed Jeremy Chardy 5-7, 6-1, 7-5.

The German claimed his 10^th tour-level win of the season as he prevailed in two hours and six minutes, withstanding 13 aces and breaking his French opponent four times. The 34-year-old Becker is through to the quarter-finals at this ATP World Tour 250 hard-court tournament for the second year in a row (l. to Gulbis in 2014).

“It was a good level,” said Becker. “We had a great end to the first set. He played well to break me. I couldn’t have done anything better, so I just tried to hang in there and had a good start to the second set. The third set was a toss-up. I won the important points, broke him at 5-5 and was able to serve it out.” 

Last week’s St. Petersburg Open runner-up Joao Sousa could be Becker’s quarter-final opponent. Three days after losing to Milos Raonic in the final in Russia, the Portuguese rebounded to beat qualifier Michal Przysiezny 6-2, 6-2 in just over one hour. In the second round, Sousa will face fourth seed Grigor Dimitrov, who is playing his first match since a surprise second-round exit to Mikhail Kukushkin at the US Open.

“It was a tough first round after a long trip. So I’m really happy with this victory today and the way I played,” said Sousa. “Mentally and physically I felt very good, so I’m really happy to be in the second round.”

Qualifier Mischa Zverev set a second-round contest with second seed Feliciano Lopez after battling past Rajeev Ram 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-3 in one hour and 49 minutes.

Sixth seed Jeremy Chardy battled past rising German star Alexander Zverev 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 on Tuesday to reach the second round of the Malaysian Open, Kuala Lumpur.

The Frenchman advanced in one hour and 50 minutes in the pair’s first meeting, breaking his 18-year-old opponent four times and winning almost half of his return points (45 per cent) as he rallied from a 6-3, 3-1 deficit. Chardy, making his debut at this ATP World Tour 250 hard court tournament, is playing for the first time since reaching the US Open fourth round (l. to Cilic).

“I was a little bit unlucky to be down I think, but he was playing very good,” said Chardy. “It was my first match after the US Open, so it’s always tough to find your rhythm. But I knew I could come back because I was feeling the ball well and I was mentally strong. I’m really happy with this win.” 

Eighth seed Vasek Pospisil cruised into the second round with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over qualifier Yasutaka Uchiyama. The Canadian, who was a quarter-finalist at Wimbledon earlier in the year (l. to Murray), fired nine aces and won 75 per cent of his service points as he claimed his 19^th win of the season.

Pospisil goes on to face Marcos Baghdatis for a place in the quarter-finals. Baghdatis finished strongly to defeat wild card Nicolas Almagro 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-1.

Top seed David Ferrer will face Radek Stepanek in his opening match after the Czech veteran defeated qualifier Yuichi Sugita 7-6(6), 6-0. Ferrer leads the pair’s FedEx ATP Head2Head series 7-3. 

World No. 84 Radu Albot upset fifth seed Viktor Troicki, beating the Serb 6-2, 7-6(5). The 25-year-old Moldovan claimed his eighth tour-level win of the season as he set a second-round clash with Mikhail Kukushkin, who dismissed Malaysian wild card Ramkumar Ramanathan 6-2, 6-2.

Tatsuma Ito will face Nick Kyrgios in the second round after beating Jarkko Nieminen 6-2, 7-6(3).