ATP New York: Soonwoo Kwon stuns Milos Raonic. Kecmanovic, Seppi, Humbert advance

The 2nd seed Milos Raonic will not remember his New York debut for too long, firing 33 aces in a 7-6, 6-7, 6-4 loss to the young Korean Soonwoo Kwon in two hours and 24 minutes in the second round. Kwon played in Pune last week and saved energy for New York as well, fending off all seven break chances to mount the pressure on the Canadian, staying in touch in the opening two sets and stealing Milos' serve once in the decider to move over the top and reach the quarters. There were no break chances in the opening set, with Kwon taking the tie break 7-4 following a forehand error from Raonic for a massive boost, staying on the level terms with the better-ranked opponent and hoping for more of the same in set number two as well. Raonic defended an early break chance there and had a massive opportunity to bring the set home earlier, with three break chances in games nine and 11 each.

Soonwoo stayed focused to save them all, reaching another tie break that Raonic claimed with two winners at 5-4 to set up a decider. There, the Korean grabbed a crucial break at 15 in the third game when the Canadian netted an easy forehand, erasing a break chance in the next game and sealing the deal with a service winner in game ten for one of the best victories in a career so far. The 4th seed Ugo Humbert needed 50 minutes to dismiss Marcos Giron 6-1, 6-0, rattling off 11 games in a row to march towards the finish line and the place in the quarters. Ugo lost nine points in seven service games, facing no break points and challenging the American to repeat that if he wanted to stay in touch. Giron was far from those numbers, though, giving away 60% of the points in his games and getting broken five times in a row to propel Ugo into the last eight.

Humbert grabbed the first break with a backhand down the line winner in the fourth game, earning another one at 4-1 and firing three winners in game seven for a 6-1. Ugo was the only player on the court in set number two, taking all six games and securing the victory with a service winner at 5-0 to sprint into the last eight. The 6th seed Miomir Kecmanovic defeated a qualifier Paolo Lorenzi 6-3, 6-3 in an hour and 13 minutes, serving at only 47% but losing serve just once. On the other hand, he broke the veteran four times, finishing the job with a break at 5-3 in set number two when Paolo missed a volley to stay on the course for the first ATP title. Andreas Seppi took down Steve Johnson 7-6, 6-3 in an hour and 29 minutes, bouncing back from 5-3 down in the opener and controlling the pace in set number two to find himself in the quarters for the first time since Moscow last year. 

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2SH5dOz