ATP

Top seeds all through at Delray, rain halts play in Rio

By Sports Desk February 18, 2022

Favourites Reilly Opelka and Grigor Dimitrov joined top seed Cameron Norrie in the quarter-finals of the Delray Beach Open after victories on Thursday.

With Norrie having already set up a quarter-final against last year's runner-up Sebastian Korda, the Briton was joined in the last eight by the second and third seeds. 

Grigor Dimitrov defeated Mitchell Krueger to mark his first appearance since a disappointing second-round exit at the Australian Open in style.

The Bulgarian won 7-6 (7-4) 6-3, with Serena and Venus Williams watching on from the crowd in far from ideal conditions in Florida.

"It's always very tough [in your opening match], especially playing the last match on," Dimitrov said.

"I've been here for a week already and I was eager to get out there and play. Today was just a match I had to get through. Very tough conditions: rain, wind, cold, hot. It is what it is, and you've got to deal with it."

Opelka, who won the tournament in 2020, went the distance against fellow American Jack Sock, eventually prevailing 6-7 (6-8) 7-6 (7-4) 6-1. 

He will face Adrian Mannarino in the last eight, after the Frenchman's 6-4 2-6 7-5 defeat of Brandon Nakashima. Dimitrov will play Australian John Millman.

At the Rio Open, only two of the four scheduled matches were completed due to rain.

Qualifier Miomir Kecmanovic dispatched sixth seed Lorenzo Sonego 7-5 6-4, while Francisco Cerundolo overcame Roberto Carballes Baena.

Top seed Matteo Berrettini's clash with Brazilian Thiago Monteiro was pushed back to Friday, while Carlos Alcaraz will resume his match against Federico Delbonis in a strong position in the first set.

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    Gauff won 6-1 6-3 in just 76 minutes in Beijing to become the youngest winner of the tournament in 14 years.

    The victory marked the 20-year-old's second WTA 1000 title, which makes her the second-youngest player since the format was introduced to win her first two finals.

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    "I was just like, 'This match is not going to change my life.' I knew regardless of the result today, I was proud. I was able to overcome and still work on things that I've been practising on, too, and stick to it," she said.

    "When you get that far, you're just happy to be in the final. I think it's just being relaxed. My first final, when I was 15, was the worst because you're like, 'I'm never going to get this opportunity again,' which is completely not true.

    "The experience of winning in the past, I realise that, yes, winning is great. It feels great right now. But tomorrow I'm going to wake up and it's a different day, 70% of the world doesn't know anything about whether I won or lost, probably even more."

    Gauff has now claimed three straight wins over Muchova, who is yet to beat the American.

    "I lost to her three times in a row. I'll say very similar losses. It was always the latest rounds of the tournaments when I got many matches under the belt," said Muchova.

    "It's very physical with her. I felt like second [best] always in the rallies."

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    Having already beaten another of the home favourites, Shang Juncheng, in his opener, the Spaniard had to dig deep but prevailed 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 in one hour and 41 minutes on Sunday.

    There was nothing to split the two in the opening set, though Wu caused some real problems with his power, and successfully defended two break points in the ninth game.

    The tie-break was also tight, but Alcaraz found his edge at the right time, winning the last three points.

    Buoyed by the home crowd, Wu started the second set strongly too, but Alcaraz absorbed the pressure well and got the only break of the match in a three-game winning run.

    With his winning streak extended, Alcaraz will now face either Gael Monfils or Ugo Humbert in the next round.

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    Alcaraz has put his shock US Open exit firmly behind him, with this his 11th win on the bounce since then. 

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    The world number six defeated US Open semi-finalist Karolina Muchova 6-1 6-3 in just 76 minutes to be crowned the youngest winner of the China Open in 14 years.

    Gauff swiftly broke the Czech's serve to propel herself into a 2-0 lead before going on to dominate the first set, which lasted only half-an-hour.

    Muchova looked to be surmounting a comeback in the second set, breaking immediately, but Gauff fought straight back, and the American broke Muchova once more to race to victory in Beijing.

    It was an impressive win against an opponent who had defeated world number two Aryna Sabalenka and Olympic gold medallist Zheng Qinwen en route to the final. Gauff played 24 winning shots but restricted the world number 49 to just 14.

    It marked Gauff's second WTA 1000 title, making her the second-youngest player since the format was introduced to win her first two finals, only older than Bianca Andreescu.

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    Gauff, who was playing her 101st WTA 1000 match, is now the first player to win each of her first seven WTA hard-court finals in the Open Era.

    Her victory meant she became the second American player to win the women's singles title at the China Open after Serena Williams (in 2004 and 2013 since the inception of the tournament in 2004.

    Gauff has now defeated Muchova in all three meetings in WTA events, previously beating her at the US Open and Cincinnati Open in 2023.

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