ATP St. Petersburg: Matteo Berrettini, Andrey Rublev, Borna Coric reach QF
World no. 9 and the 2nd seed in St. Petersburg Karen Khachanov could not have been focused on tennis this week in front of the home fans, becoming a father last weekend for the first time. In his first test, Karen lost to Joao Sousa 7-6, 6-4 in an hour and 38 minutes, with the Portuguese delivering only the 5th top-10 victory from37 matches against the rivals from the top! It was a close battle with only six break chances, three for each player and two breaks on the side of the lower-ranked opponent who delivered better tennis in the closing moments to seal the deal in straight sets and reach the quarter-final. Joao broke in the sixth game before Karen pulled the break back immediately to extend the drama in the first set, wasting a break chance in game nine to reach a tie break that Sousa grabbed 7-2 with two mini-breaks.
Khachanov was unable to do much on the return in set number two, suffering a break in game five and allowing Sousa to seal the deal with a hold at 15 at 5-4 for the first top-10 victory since Miami 2018. The 5th seed Andrey Rublev is through to the third quarter-final in the last four tournaments, battling past Ricardas Berankis 6-4, 6-7, 6-1 in two hours and one minute. The young Russian fired 20 aces and fended off all three break chances he faced (at 4-5 in the second set), creating 13 opportunities on the return and converting three to seal the deal with a strong performance in the decider where he barely lost a point on serve and grabbed two breaks for the place in the last eight.
The 3rd seed Matteo Berrettini stormed over Roberto Carballes Baena to score a 6-1, 6-2 triumph in 56 minutes, dropping six points on serve and dominating on the return as well to grab four breaks from five chances and race towards the finish line. The 8th seed Casper Ruud needed 73 minutes to dismiss Salvatore Caruso 6-3, 6-4, scoring four breaks and claiming the last three games in set number two to advance and stay on the title course. Borna Coric was set and a break down against Marton Fucsovics before taking four of the last five games in the second set, extending the duel and prevailing 6-7, 7-5, 3-0 when Marton had to retire due to hip problems.
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/30bUv9h
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