Kei Nishikori comeback ended by Taylor Fritz in Atlanta quarters, Casper Ruud stunned by Arthur Fils in Hamburg
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Updated 28/07/2023 at 22:14 GMT
Kei Nishikori’s ATP Tour comeback was ended by Taylor Fritz in the quarter-finals of the Atlanta Open, with the American sealing a comfortable 6-4 6-2 victory. The Japanese star has been out of action for nearly two years following injury problems, but performed encouragingly this week. Elsewhere, Arthur Fils caused a huge upset in Hamburg, beating Casper Ruud 6-0 6-4.
Fritz ends Nishikori's Atlanta Open run to reach the semi-finals
Kei Nishikori’s ATP Tour comeback from almost two years out following hip surgery was ended by Taylor Fritz in the quarter-finals of the Atlanta Open.
The Japanese player had beaten Australian Jordan Thompson and Chinese qualifier Juncheng Shang to reach the last eight but had his run ended by the top seed, with Fritz completing a 6-4 6-2 victory.
It perhaps wasn’t as one-sided as the scoreline suggested, but Nishikori appeared to struggle physically, and world No. 9 Fritz was good for the win, firing seven aces in an impressive serving performance.
"Super happy with how I played today, getting better and better each day. Plenty of positives I can take from today," Fritz said.
"Maybe I could serve even better, he had some chances to break me there at the end."
The American will play J.J. Wolf for a place in the final, while Nishikori could be back in action soon at the Citi Open.
Hamburg Open round-up
Arthur Fils caused a huge upset in the quarter-finals of the Hamburg Open, beating Casper Ruud 6-0 6-4 to set up a last-four clash with Alexander Zverev.
Ruud, the World No. 4, was the heavy favourite in Germany but was stunned by his 19-year-old opponent who raced out of the blocks to assert his early dominance.
Fils, ranked 67 places lower than Ruud, was devastating behind his first serve all match, but particularly in the opening set as he dealt out a bagel.
The second was more competitive, but it was the Frenchman’s night as he saw out a comfortable straight-set victory for the loss of just four games.
Earlier in the day, Zverev completed a 6-3 6-4 win over Luca Van Asshe.
Like Fils, Zverev was strong on serve, hitting eight aces to his opponent’s zero and winning 82 per cent of points behind his first serve.
Asshe did manage to break the German once during the encounter but was powerless to avoid defeat.
In the afternoon, Laslo Djere defeated Lorenzo Musetti 7-5 6-3.
Musetti, 21, impressed at Wimbledon, reaching the third round, and went into this match as favourite as the world No.18.
His quarter-final exit matches his best performance of the year, three months after he reached the last eight at the Monte-Carlo Masters.
The experienced Djere is seven years Musetti’s senior but while he is ranked No. 57, he too reached the third round at Wimbledon. The Serbian is through to the semi-finals, having not won a title since 2018 for the Milan Challenger event.
Djere’s six aces compared to his opponent’s two, and his three breakpoints were enough to battle to victory.
He will now face Zhang Zhizhen, who beat Daniel Altmaier 6-4 6-4 in the other semi-final.
In the women's semi-finals, Arantxa Rus could be on course for the biggest title of her career after a comeback victory over Australia’s Daria Saville.
The last two months has seen the Dutchwoman win both La Bisbal Open in Spain, and Contrexeville Open in France, as she proves her talent on clay.
After going down 6-2 in the first set in Germany, she rallied to make the most of the 21 break points she accumulated, converting seven of them on the way to winning the second set 6-3 and winning the third 6-1.
There will be one representative from Germany in the final, as Noma Akugue Noha defeated Russia’s Diana Shnaider.
Akugue Noha secured a 6-3 6-3 victory in the day’s second semi-final against her fellow 19-year-old.
The teenager has already secured a clay title this season after winning the Amstelveen Women’s Open double trophy alongside Marie Weckerle.
In the Poland Open, Tatjana Maria battled to a 6-3 1-6 6-1 victory over Slovakia’s Rebecca Sramkova.
Germany’s Maria enjoyed a rare title win at the Copa Colsanitas in Colombia on clay in April this year, though Sramkova had more recent success as she claimed the ITF Ococec in May.
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