No. 2 seed advances to quarter-finals
Defending finalist and No. 2 seed Ivo Karlovic overcame a stern challenge from Frank Dancevic at the Hall Of Fame Tennis Championships on Wednesday, winning 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 in just under two hours to book a spot in the quarter-finals. Karlovic hit 20 aces and saved three of four break points faced.
“It was windy, really difficult,” Karlovic said. “In the beginning, I wasn’t really feeling the ball and he was coming up with some unbelievable shots. I had a lot of chances that I did not convert.”
Dancevic, No. 254 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, enjoys playing on fast surfaces and secured his only three tour-level wins of 2016 on grass. The Canadian used his all-court game to capture the lone break of the first set and saved the first nine break points faced on his serve (11/12 total). Dancevic was a Newport semi-finalist in 2008 (l. to Amritraj) and reached the quarter-finals in 2010 (l. to Fish).
In the quarter-finals, Karlovic will take on Marco Chiudinelli, who defeated John-Patrick Smith 1-6, 6-3, 6-3. The Swiss, who scored his first tour-level win of the season earlier this week (d. Kuznetsov), is into the Final Eight of an ATP World Tour event for the first time since Stuttgart 2010 (l. to Gimeno-Traver).
Marcos Baghdatis reached the quarter-finals with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Brian Baker. The Cypriot only landed 47 per cent of first serves in the 65-minute match, but won 73 per cent of second-serve points and did not face a break point. He is into his sixth ATP World Tour quarter-final of the year in his first trip to Newport.
“I played really well. It was my first match, so obviously I was on my heels a bit and don’t really know what to expect, but I found a way to win and I’m really happy about that,” said Baghdatis, who had a first-round bye. “I have a great team and great people around me who push me every day and this is the sport I love. My challenge is to reach the Top 20 again before the end of my career and I want to achieve that.”
Victor Estrella Burgos advanced to the second round by beating American Denis Novikov 7-6(3), 6-3. The Dominican saved all six break points faced and will now take on big-serving Gilles Muller, who received a first-round bye as the No. 3 seed.
Defending champion Rajeev Ram was beaten 6-3 6-4 by Dudi Sela.
While number one seed Steve Johnson made short work of by Yuichi Sugita 6-1, 6-4 as he seeks his second singles title in less than a month.
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