American tennis player Jared Donaldson has reached the quarter-finals of the Chengdu Open. The 20-year-old edged promising Briton Kyle Edmund in a weird match. The American handed a 6-0 1-6 6-4 loss to the world No. 46. Donaldson now has a 2-0 head-to-head record against Edmund.
Edmund blew three game points in the opening game of the match. Donaldson converted his third break point of the game to open up a 1-0 lead.
The American broke the Briton two more times to dominantly take the first set.
Edmund bounced back in style, taking the first three games of the second set. Donaldson got on the board in the fourth game to reduce the deficit to 3-1. However, that was all, as the Briton routinely closed out the set to force a decider.
Both players found consistency on their serves in the third set. No breakpoints were seen until the 10th game of the set. Donaldson converted his third break point of the game to seal the win.
Donaldson hit seven aces and won 91 percent of his first serve points against Edmund. Donaldson broke Edmund four times on Wednesday and saved 3-of-5 of Edmund's break point chances.
The match came to an end after just over and a half of action.
Donaldson plays Istomin next
Denis Istomin is set to be the next opponent of Donaldson at the Chengdu Open. Uzbekistan's Istomin edged easier than expected Russian No. 3 seed Khachanov to reach the quarter-finals. The 31-year-old lost just five games on his way to clinching the win 6-3 6-2. It was the first-ever meeting between the two.
Istomin opened the match in style as he got off to an early 3-0 lead. Khachanov managed to save two break points later on not to fall 5-1 down. The Russian had a break point in the ninth game — but didn't convert — and lost the set.
Istomin was quick to start the second set with the lead. The Uzbekistani never looked back after taking a quick 2-0 lead.
He won four games in a row to seal the win in style against the defending Chengdu champion.
Istomin had an exceptional day on his serve. The world No. 78 hit eight aces and won 85 percent of his first serve points in an hour and four minutes of play. He broke Khachanov three times and saved all three of the Russian's break point chances on Wednesday.
Donaldson wants to make amends
Donaldson and Istomin will be meeting for the second time ever when they meet in the Chengdu Open quarter-finals. Previously, Istomin beat Donaldson in the Madrid Masters qualifying round this past May. However, the match was played on clay — Donaldson's least favorite surface.
The Chengdu indoors tennis event is held on hard. Donaldson will surely have a better chance of beating Istomin this time. It remains to be seen can the rising American player continue his hood week and reach the Chengdu semi-finals.