Third seed Daniel Evans beat Spaniard Pedro Martinez 6-2 6-3 after 85 minutes to advance to the quarter finals at Sydney Tennis Classic. Evans converted all four of his break points.
Evans did not face a break point and broke twice in the third and eighth games of the first set and in the fifth and ninth games of the second set.
Evans set up a quarter final match against either US Maxime Cressy or Dusan Lajovic.
The British player started the 2022 season with a winning streak of five consecutive matches at the ATP Cup.
Aslan Karatsev won his first match of the 2022 season after his 7-5 6-4 win over Miomir Kecmanovic in 1 hour and 57 minutes. Karatsev, who reached the Australian Open semifinal as a qualifier, won 88% of his first serve points and came back from a break down in the opening set to extend his winning record against Kecmanovic to 2-0.
Kecmanovic went up a break in the sixth game to take a 4-2 lead. Karatsev broke back in the ninth game to draw level to 5-5. The Russian player earned his second break in the eleventh game to close out the first set 7-5. Kecmanovic saved a break point in the third game at deuce but Karatsev earned the break in the seventh game to seal the second set 7-5. who was named the ATP Most Improved Player of the Year.
Karatsev will take on Lorenzo Sonego, who cruised past Argentine Next Gen player Sebastian Baez 6-2 6-3 after 81 minutes.
The first set went on serve in the first five games before Sonego earned his first break to take a 4-2 lead. The Italian player won three consecutive games including a double break to seal the first set 6-2.
Baez saved two break points in the second game of the second set to hold serve at deuce. Sonego converted his fourth game in the sixth game and did not face any break points in his next two service games to close out the second set 6-3.
Karatsev beat Sonego 3-6 6-3 6-4 in their previous head-to-head match in Dubai en route to his first career title last March.
Twenty-year-old US Next Gen player Brandon Nakashima, who beat Fabio Fognini 7-6 (9-7) 7-6 (8-6) in 1 hour and 59 minutes to win his second ATP Tour match against his Italian player. Nakashima won two tie-break sets against Jiri Vesely in the first round earlier this week.
Fognini earned his first break in the third game to take a 2-1 lead. Nakashima broke straight back in the fourth game to draw level to 2-2. Fognini had to saved two break points in the sixth and eighth games of the first set. The Italian player saved two set points but Nakashima won a tight tie-break 9-7. Nakashima earned an early break to take a 2-0 lead at the start of the second set. Fognini broke straight back in the fourth game to take a 3-2 lead. Fognini fended off a break point in the 11th game en route to the tie-break. Nakashima went up a 3-0 lead with a mini-break but Fognini won six consecutive points to take a 6-3 lead earning three set points. Nakashima fought back by winning five points to seal the tie-break 8-6.
Nakashima will take on last year’s Toronto Masters 1000 finalist Reilly Opelka, who fired 10 aces in his 6-3 6-2 win over Australian wild card Jordan Thompson. Opelka broke in the sixth game of the opening game and in the first and fifth games of the second set.
