Tennis News

Dominic Thiem defeated fellow Austrian Andreas Haider-Maurer 6-2, 7-6(2) on Wednesday to move into the quarter-finals of the St. Petersburg Open. No. 3 seed Thiem was in no mood to offer a wedding present to the recently married Haider-Maurer, striking seven aces, no double faults and finishing the match in 85 minutes after going six-for-nine on break chances.

Simone Bolelli broke a three-match losing streak with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 opening-round victory over wild card Andrey Rublev. Looming in the second round is top seed Tomas Berdych, currently No. 5 in the Emirates ATP Race to London. The Czech is next in line to qualify for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals.

Teymuraz Gabashvili swept past qualifier Yaraslav Shyla 6-2, 6-2 for his 100^th tour-level win and set a meeting with fourth seed Roberto Bautista Agut. Gabashvili saved all three break points faced in the 54-minute match.

Marcel Granollers earned a confidence-boosting 6-3, 6-3 win over Thanasi Kokkinakis and now plays seventh seed Joao Sousa. The Portuguese overcame qualifier Radu Albot 3-6, 7-5, 6-4.

Benjamin Becker, No. 71 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, edged World No. 154 Andrey Golubev 6-4, 1-6, 6-4. Becker broke serve in the final game of the match to set up a second-round meeting with Denis Istomin

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga overcame a second-set fight-back from Mischa Zverev to record a 7-6(5), 6-7(8), 6-3 win in Metz on Wednesday. Tsonga held a match point at 8/7 in the second-set tie-break, but saw his opponent win three points in a row to force a decider. The Frenchman moved into the quarter-finals after striking 12 aces and saving six of eight break points faced.

Fifth seed Philipp Kohlschreiber, who reached the 2009 Moselle Open final, saved five of seven break points in a 7-6(5), 6-3 victory over John Millman. He will face Rajeev Ram, who beat Belgium’s Davis Cup hero Steve Darcis 1-6, 6-3, 6-3.

Gilles Muller fired 17 aces, dropping just five of his first-serve points in a 7-6(3), 7-6(2) win over eighth seed Fernando Verdasco. It was the first time Muller had beaten the former World No. 7. He awaits the winner of second seed and two-time former champion Gilles Simon or qualifier Edouard Roger-Vasselin.

“What pleased me most was the way I played,” said Muller. “Every time I had a chance to go to net, I did, and that put a lot of pressure on him. Playing indoors is an easy adjustment for me since I depend a lot on my serve-and-volley game. Indoors, there is no wind and no outside influences to affect my game, so it is easier for sure.”

Kubot/Roger-Vasselin Open Doubles Bid

Second seeds Lukasz Kubot and Roger-Vasselin opened their quest for the doubles title by beating Frenchmen Adrian Mannarino and Fabrice Martin 6-2, 7-6(7). Roger-Vasselin won the title in 2012 with Nicolas Mahut.