Raonic, Almagro Strong On Serve Again; Nishikori In Late Action: Milos Raonic maintained his run of form Thursday when he booked a spot in the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships quarter-finals. Already No. 1 on the ATP World Tour in first serve points won (81 per cent) and in service games won (90 per cent) this season, Raonic improved his ace tally to 737 by knocking out Jeremy Chardy 6-4, 6-3 in 77 minutes. By recording his 39th match win of the year, Raonic continues to improve his chances of battling into the Top 8 of the Emirates ATP Race To London and qualifying for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. Last week’s Thailand Open titlist is currently in 12th position. Raonic goes on to face Lukas Lacko, a lucky loser in place of Michael Llodra, who dominated with his forehand in a 7-5, 6-4 victory over qualifier Edouard Roger-Vasselin in 88 minutes. Lacko, 25, is 1-7 lifetime in quarter-final matches. Visit Official Tournament Website Sixth seed Nicolas Almagro once again produced a strong service performance. Following on from his victory over qualifier Benjamin Becker in the first round, Almagro won 21 of his 22 first serve points – lost six service points overall – and hit 10 aces to defeat Horacio Zeballos 6-4, 6-2 in 64 minutes. It was the pair’s second FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting of the year (also Acapulco). “I played very well today and I am happy to have the win," said Almagro. "I think I served very well and am pleased to be through to the next round." The 28-year-old Almagro is in 14th position in the Emirates ATP Race to London standings for the eight-player season-ending Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in November. Almagro now plays fourth seed and defending champion Kei Nishikori. Nishikori reached his fourth ATP World Tour quarter-final (or better) this season after he defeated Feliciano Lopez 7-6(4), 6-0 in 70 minutes. Nishikori lost eight points in the second set. The pair met in the U.S. National Indoor Tennis Championships final in February, but Lopez won their Western & Southern Open clash two months ago. Finals Contenders Beaten In Quarter-Finals Two teams vying for a spot at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, from 4-11 November in London, lost in the Tokyo quarter-finals. Second seeds Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez, who are currently in third place in the Emirates ATP Doubles Team Rankings, were beaten by Treat Huey and Dominic Inglot 6-3, 6-3 in 64 minutes. Earlier in the day, Austrian team Julian Knowle and Jurgen Melzer won a high-quality doubles encounter against third seeds Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo 6-4, 3-6, 10-8 in 88 minutes. Wimbledon finalists Dodig and Melo are in sixth place for a spot in the English capital.
Posted on: Thu, 03 Oct 2013 10:43:46 +0000
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