Tim Smyczek reached his first ATP quarter-final for more than five years by defeating seventh seed Donald Young 1-6, 7-6, 6-2 in Delray Beach, but Noah Rubin was unable to build on a good start, as he fell to Jeremy Chardy 6-4, 6-2.
Young swept the first set, dominating the lower ranked player, breaking twice and dropping just four points on his own serve. But Young, for all his good play in the first set, can rarely sustain a high level over three or five sets, and Smyczek found opportunities in the second. Smyczek lost his serve in the second, but Young was far less secure himself, and Smyzcek broke to earn a tie break.
Smyczek would win the tiebreak seven-two, and from that point on, the momentum of the match shifted completely. Young’s play continued to detriorate, and Smyczek grew visibly in confidence, earning a double-break before serving out the match to fifteen to earn his first ATP quarter-final appearance since 2011 in San Jose, where he lost to Gael Monfils. Smyczek will fancy his chances in the semi-finals, as he will face the winner of Austin Krajicek and Sam Querrey.
Smyczek, who had defeated young prodigy Taylor Fritz in the first round as a wildcard will earn a minimum forty-five points for his success. It will be a welcome rankings boost for the American, who had endured a tough start to the year, excluding the Australian Open where he defended the second round points he earned in 2015.
Rubin broke early, as Chardy hit a pair of double-faults in his first service game to aid the young American. Rubin held, then attempted to break the Chardy serve again going up love-forty in next game, but the experienced Frenchman held strong. Chardy had his own opportunities next, as he forced break points in game lasting more than seven minutes. Rubin would hold, and again pressure the Chardy serve, though he was denied on break point again. Two big serves helped Chardy out of the deuce hole.
Chardy then raised his level, as he broke twice to turn the first set around and win it six-four. The gulf in class was further evident in the second set, as Chardy cruised through Rubin’s service games, breaking three times. Though Chardy had largely steadied the ship with regards to serving, he still gave Rubin one break in third, but it became academic as Chardy appeared so able to deal with Rubin’s delivery. Chardy will now face the winner of the match between Juan Martin Del Potro, and John-Patrick Smith, who play in the evening session.
