China Open: Alcaraz joins elite club with 200th career win

0
308
FILE PHOTO: Tennis - Laver Cup - Uber Arena, Berlin, Germany - September 22, 2024 Team Europe's Carlos Alcaraz in action during his singles match against Team World's Taylor Fritz REUTERS/Annegret Hilse/File Photo

New Delhi, September 30, 2024: Carlos Alcaraz defeated Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands 6-1, 6-2 at the China Open on Sunday to capture his 200th career tour victory.

Alcaraz, 21, joined Jannik Sinner and Felix Auger-Aliassime as players born in the 2000s to achieve that feat. The Spaniard won 100 percent of points on his first-serve points (23 of 23) and needed just 57 minutes to defeat Griekspoor, who had two winners to go with 24 unforced errors.

In the quarterfinals, the second-seeded Alcaraz will meet Russian Karen Khachanov, who was pushed by Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina in the 7-6 (4), 7-6 (9) battle. The seventh-seeded Khachanov pulled out the win despite 22 unforced errors against 17 winners according to the reports published in rediff.com.

Chinese wild card Bu Yunchaokete upset sixth-seeded Lorenzo Musetti of Italy 6-2, 6-4.

Top seed Sinner of Italy and third-seeded Daniil Medvedev of Russia also will be in action in the quarterfinals in Beijing on Monday.

Japan Open

Sixth-seeded Holger Rune of Denmark knocked out home-country favorite Kei Nishikori 3-6, 6-2, 7-5 in the quarterfinals in Tokyo.

Rune survived a match point in the two-hour, 16-minute match against Nishikori, a two-time Tokyo champion. Rune also converted four of nine break opportunities but had 46 unforced errors.

Also advancing to the semifinals were Czech Tomas Machac and France’s Arthur Fils and Ugo Humbert.

 

 

Fils upset eighth-seeded Ben Shelton 7-5, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (2) in a three-hour match. Fils recorded 58 winners and was 60 of 70 (86 percent_ on first-serve points won. American Shelton saved 15 of 19 break points but matched Fils with 49 unforced errors and notched 34 winners.

Machac was a 7-6 (2), 6-3 winner over American Alex Michelsen while Humbert advanced after Great Britain’s Jack Draper, down a set and a game, pulled out with an injury.