Juan Martin Del Potro and Grigor Dimitrov gained second round wins on Wednesday to set up a third round meeting in Cincinnati. Del Potro beat Mitchell Krueger 6-4 6-4, while Dimitrov beat Feliciano Lopez 7-6(5) 6-4.
First up on Center Court was Grigor Dimitrov and Feliciano Lopez in what was expected to be an amazing serving match up. The first set lived up to expectation as both men served accurately and well. It was the Spaniard who had the most opportunities as he had four break points which he couldn’t convert. As a result of Lopez’s missed chances the first set went to a tiebreak. A crucial mini break at the start proved vital for the Bulgarian as he too the tiebreak 7-5.
The second set saw Dimitrov break early for a 2-1 lead and never look back. Some outstanding shot making was made by Dimitrov to save three break points from Lopez and eventually serve out the match for a much needed victory. The win was Dimitrov’s 30th of the season and it booked him a place in the last 16 of the Western and Southern Open.
In the third round he will now play Juan Martin Del Potro who beat American qualifier Mitchell Krueger 6-4 6-4. The tall Argentinian only lost 10 points on his first serve and saved all five break points faced to seal an epic showdown with Dimitrov on Thursday.
Other Results
In other results Pablo Carreno Busta and David Ferrer secured an all Spanish showdown on Thursday as they beat Mischa Zverev and Janko Tipsarevic respectively. Carreno Busta edged out Zverev with a 6-3 7-6(2) in a match which saw high level of tennis. The Spaniard made the less errors to book his place in the third round.
He will now play Ferrer who beat Tipsarevic 6-4 6-7(5) 6-1 in 2 hours and 25 minutes. Despite the Spaniard serving for the match three times, the Serbian came back to force a deciding set. However Ferrer outplayed Tipsarevic in the decider to ensure his progress in Cincinnati.
In the final two results so far Yuichi Sugita beat Joao Sousa 3-6 7-6(5) 6-1 while Karen Khachanov beat Italian lucky loser Thomas Fabbiano 6-2 6-2. Sugita and Khachanov will meet in the third round.
