Monfils Soars To Zhuhai Quarter-finals

Gael Monfils brought his best tennis when he had to on Wednesday to advance past Brit Cameron Norrie at the Huajin Securities Zhuhai Championships 5-7, 6-3, 6-4.

The third-seeded Frenchman was struggling in the conditions in the second set, leaning on his racquet for support in between points. But the 33-year-old played hot-shot worthy tennis to break Norrie at 4-4 in the third set and served it out to reach the quarter-finals at the ATP 250.

"I'm very happy because it's tough conditions out here. It's always tricky the first match, every time with new conditions. I'm not quite yet ready, because of the jet lag. I'm still battling, but I'm quite happy I could pull up this one tonight. It was important for my confidence," Monfils said.

He earned his 24th hard-court win of the season, which is third-most on the ATP Tour. Monfils trails only Daniil Medvedev (41) and Roger Federer (25) in the category.

Monfils will next meet Spain’s Albert Ramos-Vinolas, who saved four set points in the first set en route to a 7-6(2), 6-3 win over #NextGenATP Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic in one hour and 43 minutes. Kecmanovic served for the first set at 5-4, leading 40/0.

France’s Lucas Pouille and Australia’s Nick Kyrgios both made first-round exits. South Korean qualifier Soonwoo Kwon lost just six of his first-service points (35/41) to account for fifth seed Pouille 7-6(4), 6-2 in one hour and 32 minutes. Kwon, who broke into the Top 100 of the ATP Rankings on 5 August and is now 6-5 on the season, will now play Bosnia and Herzegovina qualifier Damir Dzumhur.

Andreas Seppi avenged February’s Acapulco loss to sixth seed Kyrgios with a 7-6(5), 6-1 win over 64 minutes. Kyrgios led 4-1 in the first set and could not convert three set points at 5-3. Seppi, who hit eight aces and is now 15-21 on the year, will next play Chinese wild card Zhizhen Zhang.

Nitto ATP Finals Contenders Rojer/Tecau Advance To Quarter-finals
Top seeds Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau, who have compiled a 19-8 record in tour-level team finals, overcame Kyrgios and Matt Reid 6-3, 3-6, 10-7 in 57 minutes for a place in the quarter-finals. Rojer and Tecau are currently in sixth position in the 2019 ATP Doubles Race To London for a spot at the Nitto ATP Finals, to be held at The O2 from 10-17 November.

Second seeds Luke Bambridge and Ben McLachlan beat Divij Sharan and Artem Sitak 7-6(2), 6-4, while third seeds Marcus Daniell and Philipp Oswald swept past Di Wu and Zhang 6-2, 6-1 in 50 minutes.