Number 3 seed Tomas Berdych eased past Italian Thomas Fabbiano 6-2 6-2 in 74 minutes to reach the quarter finals at the Dubai Duty Free Tnnis Championships. Berdych fired eight aces and converted five of 10 break points.
Berdych got a double break to clinch the first set 6-2. The Czech went up a set and a break at the start of the second set but Fabbiano broke straight back in the second game and held his serve in the third game to take a 2-1 lead. In the fifth game Berdych broke serve on his third opportunity to take a 3-2 lead. Fabbiano saved two break points in a very long seventh game but Berdych converted his third opportunity to go up 5-2 before serving out for the match in the next game after 1 hour and 14 minutes.
Berdych reached the Dubai final twice and the semifinals in four of the last five years. He holds a 22-4 win-loss record in this tournament.
Berdych will face Nick Kyrgios who swept aside Mikhail Kukushkin 6-3 6-2 to take his seventh consecutive win. It will be their third head-to-head match between Berdych and Kyrgios. The Czech player beat Kyrgios at last January’s Australian Open, while the young Aussie took the re-match in the semifinals in Marseille last week.
“Nick is playing really good, with a lot of confidence. He is full of fireworks on the court, in a good way. He is playing really aggressive- He is going for a lot of shots, risking a lot. His match is on a much higher level than usual. He is doing well. So for me it’s going to be a big challenge. Definitely I have a lot to give him back for last week and just really need to refocus myself, try to raise the game and play some good tennis again”, said Berdych.
Kyrgios said of his quarter final match against Berdych. “He beat me at the Australian Open. I beat him last week in Marseille. The conditions here are completely different, so it should suit him. His serve is big. It is going to be a good match. I am looking forward to it. He is a great player. Today’s match was a major improvement from Tuesday. I think I adapted well to the conditions. I got a much better session in beforehand, got a good rest and was really prepared”, said Kyrgios.
Stan Wawrinka beat Croatian qualifier Franko Skugor 7-5 6-1. Skugor scored the fourth win of his career on the ATP Tour. The first set went on serve until the 11th game when Wawrinka got his first break of the match at 5-5 with his backhand passing shot.
Wawrinka won 8 of his next 9 games to secure his spot in the quarter finals. The Lausanne star hit his return winner to break serve in the second game of the second set to open up a 2-0 lead. The 2015 Roland Garros champion got a double break but needed five match points to seal the win. Wawrinka saved a break point in the fifth game of the first set with an ace and another in the second game with a forehand winner. Wawrinka made 36 unforced errors. Wawrinka will face Phillip Kohlschreiber who beat Borna Coric 6-2 7-6
Roberto Bautista Agut swept aside 19-year-old Hyeon Chung 6-0 6-1 in a one-sided match. Bautista Agut, who won two titles in Auckland and Sofia, converted five of his seven break point chances and won 64 points on return.
Bautista Agut got his first break in the opening game and his serve in the next game. He faced the only problems in the second and in the third games which went to deuce. In the second game Chung earned three game points but could not hold his serve. Bautista faced a break.back point in the third game but he saved it to open up a 3-0 lead. Bautista got a double break to 15 to cruise to 4-0 and held his serve to love in the fifth game. Bautista Agut earned two set points and closed out the first set on his second set point in just 28 minutes.
Bautista Agut converted the first of his three break point chances in the second game to win his eighth consecutive game. Chung, winner of the ATP Most Improved Player Award in 2015, got his first game on the scoreboard when he held his serve in the fourth game for 1-3 but Bautista Agut got his double break in the sixth game to cruise to 5-1. Bautista served out on his first match point after just 54 minutes Bautista Agut has reached the quarter finals for the fifth time this season.
“It’s good to win like this, playing well and doing everything you practise for and you get the result but I have to be humble and know that to win like this is impossible. You have to work a lot and play two hours for every win. For sure, I am happy because I won fast today but I know it’s going to be tougher and tougher”, said Bautista Agut
Bautista Agut will face world number 57 Marcos Baghdatis, who breezed aside Vasek Pospisil 6-4 6-2 in 66 minutes. Baghdatis broke serve in the ninth game to clinch the first set before getting a double break to cruise to a 3-0 lead in the second set. The Cypriot fended off the five break points he faced.
Number 6 seed Feliciano Lopez beat Lukas Rosol 6-3 7-6. The Spanish player needed just a break to clinch the first set 6-3. Lopez got a late break in the second set before earning a chance to serve for the match at 6-5. Rosol managed to break back to force the second set to the tie-break. Lopez came from behind in the breaker to secure his spot in the quarter finals.
