ATP Marseille: Stefanos Tsitsipas downs Mikael Ymer. Felix Auger-Aliassime saves MP's

World no. 6 and the defending Marseille champion Stefanos Tsitsipas is through to the quarter-final after one of his best matches so far in 2020, defeating Mikael Ymer 6-1, 6-3 in 71 minutes. In the first battle of the coevals on the ATP Tour, Stefanos dropped eight points in nine service games, facing bo break points and taking more than a half of the return points to earn four breaks from eight opportunities, controlling the scoreboard all the time and securing only the fourth victory of the season. Stefanos held at love in the first game and grabbed a break in game two following a double fault from Ymer who found himself 5-1 down after a smash winner from the Greek at the net. Serving for the set, Tsitsipas held with a volley winner that carried him 6-1 in front, producing another break at 2-2 in set number two when the Swede hit a double fault. Returning at 5-3, Stefanos grabbed a break at love to seal the deal and advance into the last eight, hoping for more of the same in the upcoming matches.

An in-form Vasek Pospisil ousted the 8th seed Hubert Hurkacz 6-3, 6-4 in an hour and 28 minutes, fending off all four break chances and stealing the Pole's serve once in each set for another solid win during the indoor swing. The Canadian saved those two break chances in the first game of the match, breaking Hubert at 4-3 and closing the opener with a hold at 15 in game nine. Unable to create any damage on the return, Hubert struggled to find the pace on serve as well in set number two, allowing Pospisil to seize the fifth break chance at 4-4 and move over the top in the next game, reaching his second quarter-final in three weeks. The young Kazakh Alexander Bublik ousted the 6th seed Benoit Paire 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 in an hour and 37 minutes, winning three points more than his opponent and competing on a high level in sets two and three.

Following that first-set loss, Alexander started to serve better and lost only 11 points in sets two and three, mounting the pressure on the other side of the court and producing one break in each of those to advance into the next round. The 7th seed Felix Auger-Aliassime saved two match points in a 6-7, 7-6, 6-3 triumph over Stefano Travaglia in two hours and 31 minutes. Rotterdam finalist served at 74% and fired 13 aces but had to dig deep to beat the rival, fending off nine out of ten break chances and delivering two breaks from only three opportunities to avoid the setback and stay on the title course. Stefano came back from 5-3 down to take the opening set in the tie break, wasting those match points at 6-4 in the second set tie break, allowing Felix to secure four straight points and force a decider where he was the favorite now. The Canadian saved break chances in back-to-back games and grabbed a break in the game between, opening a 4-1 advantage and closing the encounter with a hold at 15 in the ninth game.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/37HBWsv