Tsitsipas Sails Through Sydney Opener

Greece’s #NextGenATP star Stefanos Tsitsipas looked nearly as sharp on Wednesday as he did in November when he captured the Next Gen ATP Finals title in Milan. The 20-year-old dismissed Argentina’s Guido Andreozzi at the Sydney International 6-3, 6-4 to earn his first tour-level win of the season.

Tsitsipas broke the 27-year-old three times and held off a late comeback from the Argentine to move into the quarter-finals. The World No. 15 broke through in 2018, reaching finals at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell and the Rogers Cup and winning titles at the Intrum Stockholm Open and in Milan. Tsitsipas will next face Italy’s Andreas Seppi, who beat Slovakian Martin Klizan 7-6(2), 6-2.

Watch: Tsitsipas Serves Up Sushi Doughnuts, Sydney Fish Market

Third seed Diego Schwartzman also gained his first win of the new season, breaking Spain’s Guillermo Garcia-Lopez five times en route to a 6-2, 6-3 win. The Argentine will face Yoshihito Noshioka for a spot in the semi-finals. The Japanese left-hander routed Russian Andrey Rublev 6-3, 6-1.

Brisbane International quarter-finalist Alex de Minaur dismissed 21-year-old Reilly Opelka 6-4, 7-6(5). The 19-year-old De Minaur withstood 17 aces from the 6’11” American and won 88 per cent of his first-serve points (28/33). The fifth seed will face countryman Jordan Thompson for a place in the semi-finals.

Cabal/Farah Move Into Last Four
Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah booked their place in the Sydney International semi-finals on Wednesday, beating Matthew Ebden and Robert Lindstedt 6-3, 7-6(1). The top-seeded Colombians dropped only six points behind their first serves (33/39) to advance after 79 minutes.

Cabal and Farah will meet Aussies Lleyton Hewitt and Jordan Thompson or Martin Klizan and Nicholas Monroe for a place in the final. Hewitt and Thompson upset Brisbane International finalists Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury 6-1, 6-3 in 56 minutes.

Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares moved two wins away from their second Sydney title, saving all three break points they faced to beat Ivan Dodig and Edouard Roger-Vasselin 7-5, 6-3. Murray and Soares lifted their maiden team title at the tournament in 2016.

The second seeds will face Ken Skupski and Neal Skupski in the semi-finals. The British brothers won 75 per cent of service points (47/63) to defeat Aussies Alex Bolt and Matt Reid 6-4, 7-6(4).