ATP Brisbane: Kyrgios and Edmund bow out.De Minaur, Dimitrov and Raonic win
The 5th seed and 2016 Brisbane champion Milos Raonic has safely reached the quarter-final, ousting the young Serb Miomir Kecmanovic 6-3, 7-6 in an hour and 22 minutes. Just like against Aljaz Bedene in the first round, Milos unleashed fury from his initial shot, serving at 74% and blasting 21 aces to lose 12 points in 11 service games and never face a break point. The 19-year-old qualifier scored his first ATP win here in Brisbane but he couldn't produce the same performance today despite a solid effort, saving two out of three break points and staying in touch with Milos in set number two before losing the edge in the tie break.
The Canadian found his range from the very first point on serve, making one good hold after another and breaking Miomir in game six to jump ahead, closing the opener with a hold at 15 at 5-3. The youngster did his best to follow the rival's pace in set number two but he suffered three mini-breaks in the tie break to send Milos over the top. The 7th seed and the last year's semi-finalist Alex de Minaur scored the second convincing win over his compatriots, beating Jordan Thompson 6-4, 6-2 in an hour and 20 minutes for the place in the quarters.
Serving at 78%, de Minaur lost 12 points in nine service games, defending both the first and second serve in a similar way to face no break points, mounting the pressure on the other side of the net and dominating on the rival's second serve to create six break points and convert three. Thompson played well in the opening set, suffering a break in the third game before finding his rhythm to challenge Alex more seriously. Nonetheless, the youngster kept that one break with ease, holding at 30 in the 10th game for a 6-4, hoping for more of the same in the rest of the encounter.
De Minaur sailed through his service games in set number two as well and he shifted into a higher gear on the return as well, winning the last five games and clinching the win with breaks in games five and seven to reach the last eight in style. A former finalist Kei Nishikori is through to the quarters as well after a 7-5, 6-2 win over Denis Kudla in an hour and 19 minutes. The Japanese served great, dropping 14 points in 10 service games and offering Kudla no break points in the entire match. The American couldn't repeat those numbers behind his serve, struggling after missing the first and getting broken three times from seven chances that Kei created.
Nothing could separate them in the first 10 games and it was Kei who secured a break at love in game 11, winning 12 of the last 15 points to secure the opener 7-5 with a nice hold a few minutes later. Denis lost the ground in set number two, unable to match the rival's pace from the baseline and giving his serve away in games one and seven before Kei wrapped up the win with a hold at 15 at 5-2 to stay on the title course. The defending champion Nick Kyrgios made a great start but he couldn't stay on the same level throughout the match, losing to Jeremy Chardy 6-7, 6-2, 6-3 in an hour and 39 minutes to drop out from the top-50 for the first time since February 2015!
Chardy blasted 16 aces and he played better on both the first and second serve to control the scoreboard after the opener and bring the match home for the place in the quarter-final. Nick dropped just two points on serve in the opening set but he got broken three times in the rest of the match, winning just nine points on the return in sets two and three to find himself on the losing side.
Second round results:
[7]Alex de Minaur (AUS) vs Jordan Thompson (AUS) 6-4 6-2 [5]Milos Raonic (CAN) vs [Q]Miomir Kecmanovic (SRB) 6-3 7-6(2) Jeremy Chardy (FRA) vs [8]Nick Kyrgios (AUS) 6-7(5) 6-2 6-3 [Q]Yasutaka Uchiyama (JPN) vs [3]Kyle Edmund (GBR) 7-6(6) 6-4 [6]Grigor Dimitrov (BUL) vs John Millman (AUS) 6-3 6-4 [2]Kei Nishikori (JPN) vs Denis Kudla (USA) 7-5 6-2
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2Ask5YW
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