Gasquet Tears Through Shenzhen Opener

Third seed Richard Gasquet tore through his Shenzhen Open second round on Wednesday, dismissing qualifier Andrew Whittington 6-1, 6-0 in just 51 minutes.

The Frenchman lost only eight points on serve and broke Whittington five times as he sealed his 27^th win of the season. The 30-year-old Gasquet is looking to get back on track after a disappointing recent stretch, which saw him forced out of Toronto with a rib injury and suffer a first-round exit to Kyle Edmund at the US Open.

Next up for Gasquet will be Mischa Zverev, who reached his first ATP World Tour quarter-final in almost a year on Wednesday as he upset seventh seed Fabio Fognini 7-6(3), 6-4.

Zverev, who came through qualifying, fired 10 aces and won 79 per cent of his service points as he claimed victory in 81 minutes. His last quarter-final showing came in Valencia last year, where he also defeated Fognini before falling to Roberto Bautista Agut.

Mischa’s younger brother, 19-year-old Alexander Zverev, was forced to withdraw from this ATP World Tour 250 tournament, citing fatigue after arriving late from St. Petersburg, where he won his first ATP World Tour title on Sunday (d. Wawrinka).

Thomas Fabbiano was the lucky loser to replace Zverev and the Italian made good on his opportunity as he defeated Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in just under two hours in the first round.

Fognini was not the only seed to exit on Wednesday. Malek Jaziri ousted second seed David Goffin 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-2 in just over two hours. The Tunisian is through to his second ATP World Tour quarter-final in as many weeks after reaching the last eight in Metz (l. to Simon).

Goffin was coming off a semi-final showing in Metz (l. to Pouille) and dropped to a 38-19 match record on the season.

Second Seeds Reach Semis

Second seeds Oliver Marach and Fabrice Martin reached the Shenzhen semi-finals with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Mikhail Kukushkin and Stephane Robert. The Austrian/French duo are 15^th in the Emirates ATP Doubles Race To London and are chasing their third title of the season after victories in Chennai and Delray Beach.

Elsewhere, third seeds Mate Pavic and Michael Venus opened their bid with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Chinese pairing Mao-Xin Gong and Ze Zhang.