Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic saved three of four break points during a dominant second set that lifted him to a 7-6 (3), 6-2 upset of No. 1 seed Holger Rune of Denmark on Wednesday in the second round of the Nordic Open in Stockholm.
Kecmanovic won the last four games of the second set to secure his spot in the quarterfinals. He had lost his past 11 matches against top-10 opponents.
No. 3 seed Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands warded off an upset, downing Finland’s Emil Ruusuvuori 7-6 (3), 6-4. Serbian Laslo Djere and Russian qualifier Pavel Kotov also came out on top in second-round action, eliminating American J.J. Wolf and Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego, respectively.
Playing on a protected ranking, Frenchman Gael Monfils bested Marton Fucsovics of Hungary 2-6, 6-2, 7-5 in a first-round match. Russia’s Roman Safiullin also advanced to the second round with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Brazilian Thiago Seyboth Wild.
Japan Open
Marcos Giron knocked out No. 2 seed Casper Ruud of Norway in 81 minutes to move into the quarterfinals in Tokyo.
The unseeded American struck nine aces and converted four of seven break points, overcoming an 2-4 hole in the second set for a 6-3, 6-4 victory. Up next for Giron is No. 8 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada, a 6-4, 6-1 winner against Austria’s Sebastian Ofner.
No. 5 seed Tommy Paul posted a 6-4, 6-2 win against Mackenzie McDonald and will face another fellow American in the quarterfinals after Ben Shelton rallied for a 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-3 win against Australia’s Jordan Thompson.
European Open
No. 3 seed Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan swatted 11 aces to cruise to a 6-4, 6-2 sweep of Frenchman Gregoire Barrere to advance to the quarterfinals in Antwerp, Belgium.
Bublik won 26 of 30 first-service points and saved all three of his break points en route to the victory. He was one of three seeded players to earn victories Wednesday, joining fourth-seeded Arthur Fils of France, a 7-6 (4), 7-6 (2) winner over Estonian wild card Mark Lajal, and Peruvian eighth seed Juan Pablo Varillas, who beat Russia’s Alexander Shevchenko 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.
French qualifier Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard ousted wild card David Goffin of Belgium in another second-round match, while Portugal’s Nuno Borges and Botic van de Zandschulp moved past the first round with victories.
–Field Level Media
