No. 1 seed Alexander Zverev achieved a personal benchmark and advanced to the quarterfinals of the Erste Bank Open with a 6-2, 7-5 defeat of Marcos Giron on Wednesday in Vienna, Austria.
Zverev struck 10 aces and converted all three break chances in the 73-minute match for his 61st singles win of the season, eclipsing the German’s career high set in 2018. His next match is against sixth-seeded Italian Lorenzo Musetti, who advanced in a walkover when France’s Gael Monfils withdrew due to illness.
Italy’s Matteo Berrettini also moved into the last eight with a marathon 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-3 victory over fifth-seeded Frances Tiafoe in 3 hours and 3 minutes. In first-round matches, No. 3 seed Grigor Dmitrov of Bulgaria beat China’s Zhizhen Zhang 6-4, 7-5 and Brandon Nakashima eliminated No. 4 Tommy Paul 6-4, 6-4.
Swiss Indoors Basel
Top-seeded Andrey Rublev of Russia reached the quarterfinals in Basel, Switzerland, with a 7-6 (3), 6-1 defeat of Alejandro Tabilo of Chile.
Rublev hammered 14 aces and saved the only break point he faced. His next opponent will either be home favorite Stan Wawrinka or sixth-seeded Ben Shelton. At age 39, Wawrinka’s first-round win over France’s Adrian Mannarino made him the oldest match winner in tournament history.
Belgium’s David Goffin outlasted No. 5 seed Ugo Humbert of France to reach the quarterfinals, winning 3-6, 6-1,7-6 (7) in 2 hours and 27 minutes. In first-round action, Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agu ousted No. 2 seed Casper Ruud of Norway 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 and No. 8 Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada defeated Argentina’s Sebastian Baez 7-5, 6-1.
–Field Level Media REUTERS
