Cincinnati: Rafa Nadal extended his spotless record against Richard Gasquet, while unseeded American teenager Frances Tiafoe upset Alexander Zverev to reach the third round of the Cincinnati Open tennis tournament here Wednesday.
It must have felt like deja vu for the Frenchman, who fell 3-6, 4-6 to drop to 0-15 against Nadal. Gasquet last won a set against the Spaniard in 2008.
Nadal, who repelled the only breakpoint he faced in the match, served out the match at love in the 10th game, firing in three aces, including the finishing point.
“I work every day to play better. It’s obvious that was an important start for me, a good one,” said French Open champion Nadal, who will claim the World No.1 spot Monday. “Now I have another opportunity tomorrow (Thursday) to go on court and play.”
The 15-time Grand Slam winner will next face fellow Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas, who eliminated Nadal’s Wimbledon conqueror, 16th seed Gilles Muller of Luxembourg, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.
World No.7 Zverev, who stunned Roger Federer in the Montreal final last week after claiming the title in Washington DC, was on a 10-match winning streak. However in spite of losing the first set, Tiafoe held on to his baseline play to win 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.
It was 19-year-old Tiafoe’s first win over a top-10 player and he bounded around the court in joy, thumping his chest to a standing ovation after Zverev floated a backhand long on match point with his third unforced error of the last game.
Tiafoe will meet 14th seed John Isner next and said he knows he will be tested by his compatriot’s booming serve. Earlier Wednesday Isner beat Tommy Paul three and three
Earlier, Bulgarian seventh seed Grigor Dimitrov beat Feliciano Lopez 7-6(7-5), 6-4 to set up a last 16 clash with Juan Martin del Potro. Del Potro advanced with a 6-4, 6-4 win over American qualifier Mitchell Krueger, winning each set on a late break.
Saina-Shuai wins, Ramkumar exits
Sania Mirza and her Chinese partner Peng Shuai advanced to the quarterfinals of the Cincinnati Masters women’s doubles with a a 7-5, 6-4 win over Germany’s Julia Görges and Ukraine’s Olga Savchuk here Wednesday. However, Ramkumar Ramanathan crashed out of the tournament after going down to American wild card Jared Donaldson 4-6, 6-2, 4-6.
Pliskova advances, Kerber, Venus fall
Karolina Pliskova celebrated her return to the tournament that helped launch her rise to World No.1 with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Russian Natalia Vikhlyantseva in the second round of the Cincinnati Open tennis tournament here Wednesday.
Two celebrated seeds however, fell, with World No.3 Angelique Kerber and ninth-seeded Venus Williams upset in three-setters, disrupting their US Open preparations.
Kerber lost 4-6, 6-1, 6-7 (9-11) to Russian Ekaterina Makarova, while Venus was upset 3-6, 6-2, 2-6 by Australian qualifier Ashleigh Barty in second round matches.
Barty will now face former World No.1 Caroline Wozniacki, a 6-2, 6-4 winner against Russia’s Elena Vesnina, in the last 16.
Top seed Pliskova rose to the occasion on the key points. She saved all five breakpoints she faced, while losing just three points behind her first serve against the Russian, who reached her first WTA final at Den Bosch in June.
Last year Pliskova beat Kerber in the Cincinnati final, stopping the German from ascending to No.1 with the biggest victory of her career up to then. Next up for the 25-year-old Czech is a third round match against Italian Camila Giorgi, who beat Australian Daria Gavrilova 7-6(7-1), 5-7, 6-3.
American 16th seed Madison Keys beat Russian Daria Kasatkina 6-2, 6-1 to reach the last 16, where she will face Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza of Spain.
For the second week in a row, American Sloane Stephens defeated 14th seed Petra Kvitova, who was bothered by pain in her right thigh, to reach the third round with a 6-2, 6-3 win.
Results
Karolina Pliskova bt Natalia Vikhlyantseva 6-2, 6-3
Ekaterina Makarova bt Angelique Kerber 6-4, 1-6, 7-6
Ashleigh Barty bt Venus Williams 6-3, 2-6, 6-2
Camila Giorgi bt Daria Gavrilova 7-6(7-1), 5-7, 6-3
Madison Keys bt Daria Kasatkina 6-2, 6-1
Sloane Stephens bt Petra Kvitova 6-2, 6-3
Rafa Nadal bt Richard Gasquet 6-3, 6-4
Albert Ramos-Vinolas bt Gilles Muller 5-7, 6-4, 6-4
Frances Tiafoe bt Alexander Zverev 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
Grigor Dimitrov bt Feliciano Lopez 7-6(7-5), 6-4
Del Potro bt Mitchell Krueger 6-4, 6-4
