British No 2 Cameron Norrie bowed out within the second spherical of the Rotterdam Open after dropping to Australian qualifier Christopher O’Connell on Wednesday.
Norrie, who defeated Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut in straight units within the opening spherical, was edged out in two hard-fought units in opposition to an in-form O’Connell.
World No 26 Norrie broke his opponent on his option to a 3-1 lead within the opening set, however was damaged himself within the sixth sport and misplaced a see-saw tie-break earlier than dropping his serve once more firstly of the second set.
O’Connell, who got here by two qualifying matches and beat Valentin Royer within the first spherical, held on to his benefit to serve for the match when 5-4 up and, though Norrie saved 5 match factors, the world No 119 sealed his win on the sixth try.
Stan Wawrinka marked one other memorable second in his farewell season, defeating 17-year-old Dutch fortunate loser Thijs Boogaard within the first spherical.
The 40-year-old downed Boogaard 6-4 6-3 in a conflict spanning greater than twenty years in age distinction.
Wawrinka made headlines on the Australian Open final month by changing into the oldest man to achieve the third spherical of the hard-court main since Ken Rosewall.
Victoria Mboko saved a match level earlier than reversing the results of January’s Adelaide ultimate to defeat Mirra Andreeva 6-3 3-6 7-6 (7-5) on the Qatar Open.
The end result was 19-year-old Mboko’s third profession top-10 win, and she or he advances to her second profession WTA 1000 quarter-final following her shock run to final 12 months’s Montreal title.
Mboko has now gained 13 of her previous 14 three-set matches for the reason that ultimate spherical of Wimbledon qualifying final 12 months.
Prime seed Iga Swiatek superior to the quarter-finals with a three-set win over Australia’s Daria Kasatkina.
The Pole sealed a 5-7 6-1 6-1 victory in opposition to Kasatkina to arrange a gathering with former world No 3 Maria Sakkari, who beat France’s Varvara Gracheva 7-5 6-0 to achieve the final eight.
“It wasn’t an easy match,” mentioned Swiatek. “Even in the second and third set I had to do a lot to win rallies against Daria.
“I believe I gave her extra possibilities. She used the slower floor right here, and she or he was going for it extra, in comparison with the final matches.
“I felt like I could do sometimes more in the first set. Yeah, I didn’t really adjust well to the colder conditions and the wind. For sure it’s a lesson for the next few days.”
Djokovic withdraws from Doha with fatigue
Novak Djokovic has withdrawn from the upcoming Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha as a result of fatigue
Novak Djokovic has withdrawn from subsequent week’s Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha as a result of fatigue.
The 38-year-old had been scheduled to make his first look for the reason that Australian Open however will as a substitute relaxation forward of the North American swing.
Djokovic reached his eleventh Australian Open ultimate final month, the place he misplaced to world No 1 Carlos Alcaraz in 4 units.
Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner will headline the ATP 500 hard-court occasion in Doha, which begins on Monday, as the highest two seeds.
Djokovic, who gained back-to-back titles in Doha in 2016-17, owns a 15-3 match file.
He’s subsequent scheduled to compete on the ATP Masters 1000 in Indian Wells from March 1, the place he has gained 5 titles. A file he holds with Roger Federer.
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