Becker Brings Down Sixth Seed

German Benjamin Becker is through to his second quarter-final in as many weeks after upsetting sixth seed Steve Johnson 5-7, 7-6(1), 6-3 at the Delray Beach Open on Wednesday. The 34 year old took down the top-ranked American in the draw in two hours and 13 minutes, claiming 72 per cent of first-serve points and converting on four of five break point opportunities.

Becker surged to 5-3 and served for the opening set but lost eight games straight to concede it 7-5 and trail 4-0 in the second before he staged his comeback.

“I got a little bit angry at myself. At 4-0 I tried to hang in there, mix up my game, come into net a little bit more,” Becker said. “I lost a bit of my rhythm after I got angry at myself, I got a bit lucky. Obviously if you’re down two breaks your chances are very slim, but I played a great game to come back to 4-1, then you never know. He starts to think about it.

“I started to play more aggressive, he was more passive. I think the tie-break was the main point. He could easily have won that and won the match.”

Becker landed the break in the third set for 3-1 and carried momentum to the finish line to match his quarter-final run from Memhis last week. “Last year I only had one semi and one quarter, that’s it,” Becker said. “Two quarters, it’s good for me. I feel like I’m playing better right now, on the right track. I’ve still got a lot of improvement, especially my mental game.”

Eighth seed Adrian Mannarino joined Becker in the quarter-finals after a two-hour, 46-minute tussle with Japan’s Tatsuma Ito. The Frenchman pulled through 7-6(6), 6-7(4), 6-3 on the back of 12 aces.

American Rajeev Ram backed up his upset of No. 2 seed Bernard Tomic, outlasting Ukrainian Illya Marchenko 6-2, 7-5, 6-4. The World No. 89 in the Emirates ATP Rankings served for match at 5-4 in the second set, but double-faulted four times to drop serve, before conceding the set. Ram steadied to take the match in two hours and 33 minutes, saving eight of 10 break points.