ATP Hamburg: Stefanos Tsitsipas edges idol Pablo Cuevas. Casper Ruud downs Fognini

The 2nd seed Stefanos Tsitsipas is through to the quarter-final in Hamburg, beating a qualifier and one of his idols Pablo Cuevas 7-5, 6-4 in an hour and 31 minutes. It was the third win for Tsitsipas from as many encounters against Cuevas, fending off all five break points at the end of the opener and converting both he earned to seal the deal in straight sets. Both players were on a high level, hitting more winners than unforced errors, with Stefanos moving at the top with 25 winners and 17 unforced mistakes, delivering his best tennis to win all seven points on break chances and hit the quarters. There was nothing to separate them in the opening eight games, with servers keeping their initial shot under control for 4-4 in under 30 minutes. The Greek had to dig deep in the ninth game, fending off four break chances and six deuces to find himself 5-4 in front. Serving at 5-5, Stefanos saved another break point with a service winner, gathering momentum and securing the set on his first break chance in game 12 for 7-5.

The returners couldn't do much in the second set, taking ten points in the first nine games and leaving Pablo serving for staying in the clash. The experienced Uruguayan cracked under pressure, getting broken at love to hand the set and the match to his opponent. Following a win over the top seed Daniil Medvedev, the Frenchman Ugo Humbert ousted Jiri Vesely 6-4, 6-3 in an hour and 45 minutes. Ugo lost serve twice and produced four breaks to advance into the fourth quarte-final of the season. They traded breaks at the beginning of the match and Humbert secured another one in game ten following a backhand error from Vesely for a 6-4. Ugo opened a 4-1 lead in set number two with an early break, losing the break in game seven before scoring another to stay in front, moving over the top with a hold in game nine for the place in the quarters. The 8th seed Karen Khachanov barely reached the second round, unable to go through following a tough 6-1, 6-2 loss to Dusan Lajovic in 62 minutes.

Stefanos Tsitsipas and Casper Ruud are through to the quarter-final in Hamburg.

Lajovic got broken twice and stole the Russian's serve six times from 13 chances, controlling the pace and racing over the finish line in just over an hour. The Rome semi-finalist Casper Ruud still plays on a high note, toppling Fabio Fognini 6-3, 6-3 in 67 minutes to reach the quarters. Hitting 14 winners and only nine unforced errors, Casper did almost everything right, dropping ten points in nine service games and getting broken once. On the other hand, the Norwegian grabbed nearly half of the return points, converting all four break chances to stand in front all the time, sealing the deal with three breaks in set number two. The opening set was fast and fluid, with Casper losing four points behind the initial shot and rattling off the last three games at 3-3. The Italian sprayed a forehand error in the eighth game to fall 5-3 behind, allowing Ruud to claim the set with a service winner a few minutes later. Stealing 16 of the first 18 points, Ruud opened a 4-0 advantage in the second set, getting broken in game six but moving over the top with another successful return game at 5-3 to remain on the title course. 

Photo credit: Hamburg European Open/Alexander Scheuber

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