Edmund Battles To Victory In Auckland

Brit Kyle Edmund dug deep on Tuesday at the ASB Classic in Auckland, battling through a rain delay and the tricky game of Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina to advance 6-2, 4-6, 6-3.

Rain took the players off the court for nearly 90 minutes with Davidovich Fokina serving at 2-6, 5-4. The Spaniard leveled the match when play resumed, but Edmund regrouped to pick up his first win of the season. He’ll face seventh-seeded Frenchman Adrian Mannarino or Italian Andreas Seppi in the next round.

Canadian qualifier Vasek Pospisil continued his career resurgence with a convincing 6-4, 6-2 victory over Portuguese Joao Sousa, runner-up three years ago in Auckland (l. to Sock). Pospisil wrapped up last season with a third-round showing at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Shanghai and back-to back ATP Challenger Tour titles. Next up is a blockbuster second-round clash with second seed and fellow Canadian Denis Shapovalov.

Elsewhere, Australia’s John Millman saved six of eight break points to overcome American qualifier Michael Mmoh 7-6(5), 6-4 in one hour and 47 minutes, before rain suspended play for the rest of the day. 

Inglot/Qureshi March Into Quarter-finals
Dominic Inglot/Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi required just a single break in each set to move past Hugo Dellien/Thiago Monteiro 6-3, 6-4. They’ll take on the winner of fourth seeds Austin Krajicek/Franko Skugor and Santiago Gonzalez/Ken Skupski.