Chung Tops Monfils; Kohlschreiber Falls In Munich

#NextGenATP Korean Hyeon Chung recorded the biggest win of his career on Thursday when he knocked out World No. 16 Gael Monfils in a rain-interrupted encounter at the BMW Open by FWU.

Chung, currently No. 78 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, followed on from last week’s run to the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell quarter-finals with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Monfils, who had been attempting to record his 400th match win. Play was suspended due to rain with Chung leading 6-2, 3-3, leading to a 90-minute delay.

“I’m so happy as it’s the biggest win of my career,” Chung told ATPWorldTour.com. “It was a tough match against Gael and I tried to stay calm all the time. The rain delay was tough, but it’s the same for all the players. I tried to keep the rallies long, as this is his first tournament on clay. I will be ready for tomorrow and I will keep trying my best.”

Monfils, a winner of six ATP World Tour titles, will now look to the Mutua Madrid Open in his bid to become the 17th active player with 400 victories, joining fellow Frenchmen Richard Gasquet (468), Gilles Simon (412) and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (405). The 20-year-old Chung will challenge 2014 champion Martin Klizan, who cruised past sixth seed Mischa Zverev 6-2, 6-1.

“He played a really solid match and he was better than me,” said Monfils. “It’s good to be back on the court, rather than practising. It wasn’t easy and I had a lot of mis-hits, but Hyeon pushed me a lot and it was good to be back playing again.”

Earlier in the day, Horacio Zeballos continued his rich vein of form in a big-serving encounter with fifth seed Philipp Kohlschreiber. Zeballos, who reached last week’s Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell semi-finals (l. to Nadal), saved all three break points he faced to overcome the three-time champion 7-6(5), 6-4 in one hour and 39 minutes for a place in the quarter-finals. Zeballos, who is competing in his 15th tournament of the 2017 season, hit eight aces to 13 for Kohlschreiber, the 2007, 2012 and 2016 titlist.

Zeballos will now face qualifier Guido Pella, currently No. 158 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, who won 28 of his 34 first service points to beat 2014 runner-up and fourth seed Fabio Fognini 6-3, 6-2 in 77 minutes.

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In-Form Team Oust Top Doubles Seeds

Brian Baker and Nikola Mektic, winners of ATP World Tour doubles titles in Memphis and Budapest this year, combined to lose just six of their first service points in a 6-3, 6-4 victory over top seeds Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic. Fourth seeds Julio Peralta and Zeballos booked a spot in the semi-finals by beating Mikhail Kukushkin and Sergiy Stakhovsky 6-7(4), 6-4, 10-5 in just over 90 minutes.