Doha :Top-seeded Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz marched into the quarter-finals of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open with a 6-2, 7-5 win over France’s Valentin Royer in the round of 16 on Wednesday.
Alcaraz produced a flawless opening set, saving both break points he faced while breaking Royer twice. Royer surged ahead 5-2 in the second set, but Alcaraz won 21 of the final 27 points to complete the straight-sets victory.
Second seed Jannik Sinner advanced with a 6-3, 7-5 win over Australia’s Alexei Popyrin. The Italian has yet to face a break point through two matches. Fourth-seeded Daniil Medvedev suffered the day’s lone upset, falling 6-3, 6-4 to Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Fifth seed Andrey Rublev, sixth seed Jakub Mensik, seventh seed Karen Khachanov, eighth seed Jiri Lehecka and Arthur Fils also moved through, with all but Khachanov winning in straight sets.
At the Delray Beach Open, Hong Kong qualifier Coleman Wong stunned seventh-seeded American Brandon Nakashima 6-4, 7-6 (4) in the round of 16. Wong was dominant on serve, winning 32 of 38 first-serve points and dropping serve only once.
Wong will meet third seed Flavio Cobolli in the quarter-finals after the Italian defeated France’s Terence Atmane 7-5, 6-4. Norway’s second-seeded Casper Ruud rallied past American Marcos Giron 4-6, 7-6 (6), 6-4, firing 20 aces and saving all three break points he faced after losing the first set. In an all-American clash, Sebastian Korda beat Alex Michelsen 6-3, 7-6 (6), converting four of 13 break-point chances.
At the Rio Open, Argentina’s Thiago Agustin Tirante upset top seed Francisco Cerundolo 6-2, 3-1 after Cerundolo retired in the second set due to a back injury. Tirante had struck seven aces and broken serve three times before the retirement.
Tirante will next face Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo, who defeated Italy’s Francesco Passaro 4-6, 7-6 (0), 6-2. Juan Manuel Cerundolo beat Yannick Hanfmann 6-4, 6-7 (1), 6-4, while Czech Vit Kopriva advanced with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Argentina’s Roman Andres Burruchaga.
