Yuichi Sugita scored a thrilling 6-3 3-6 7-6(2) win over veteran David Ferrer while Italians Andreas Seppi and Paolo Lorenzi had a mixed day in second round action at the Antalya Open.
It was Sugita who started the brightest as he had comfortable service holds and eventually maintained his rewards as he broke in the sixth game for 4-2. The world number 66 who likes the grass courts sealed the first set 6-3 in 29 minutes. However the second set was a much tighter set with both men having long service games and having long baseline rallies. It was the Spaniard, who saved many break points, finally broke down Sugita in the eighth game for a 5-3 lead. The Spaniard held to 30 to wrap up the second set at 6-3.
Sugita gained the early advantage in the final set as he broke with his first break point of the set for a 3-1 lead. Both men held until the ninth game where it was up to Sugita to serve out the contest. Japan’s number three had two match points in the tenth game however the Spaniard known for his hard work and fighting qualities saved the match points to break back at 5-5. The now world number 39 continued to battle back to force a final set tiebreak. However Sugita was too strong and took the tiebreak 7-2 to seal victory in 2 hours and 18 minutes.
It was a hard fought victory for Sugita who deserves his place in the last eight. While for Ferrer its his 13th loss of the season in 21 matches. Yuichi Sugita will now play lucky loser Daniel Altmaier, who beat Marsel Ilhan 6-3 3-6 7-6(5) to reach his first ATP World Tour Quarter-Final. The German, who is ranked 252 in the world, hit 15 aces en route to just his second win on the main tour.
In the bottom half of the draw it was a mixed day for the Italian contingent in Turkey. Andreas Seppi beat Janko Tipsarevic 3-6 6-4 6-4. The world number 102 broke in the ninth game of the final set to land the crucial blow on his Serbian opponent. However second seed Paolo Lorenzi failed to reach the last eight after he lost to Moldova’s Radu Albot. The world number 116 won 78% of points on his first serve in his 6-3 6-4 over the Italian. Albot and Seppi will now play each other in the last eight tomorrow.
