Third seed Grigor Dimitrov reached the quarterfinals of the China Open after beating Juan Martin del Potro, 7-6(6), 7-5, Wednesday, strengthening his bid to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals in London. Dimitrov had lost all five of his matches against del Potro before mid-August, but he turned things around lately, beating the Argentine in their last two matches. “Very pleased that I was able to finish in straight sets. DelPo is an absolutely unbelievable competitor,” said Dimitrov, who will next face Roberto Bautista Agut, who was leading Aljaz Bedene 6-0, 4-0 when the latter retired due to injury.
Dimitrov notched an additional 45 points from the win, increasing his ATP Race to London tally to 3,185 points, 530 behind fourth-placed Dominic Thiem. Dimitrov is eyeing to make it to the season-ending tournament for the first time in his career. The tournament will be held from November 12 to 19 at The O2 in London.
Kyrgios makes it to quarterfinals
No. 8 seed Nick Kyrgios recovered from a one-set deficit en route to a 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 win over Mischa Zverev to reach his sixth quarterfinals of the season. The 22-year-old Kyrgios hit 11 aces and converted all four of his break point opportunities to beat Zverev in 82 minutes. Kyrgios will next face Belgium’s Steve Darcis, a 6-3, 6-4 winner over fellow qualifier Dusan Lajovic in 72 minutes.
Last month, Kyrgios defeated the 33-year-old Darcis, 6-3, 3-6, 6-7 (5), 6-1, 6-2, in their Davis Cup showdown last month.
Ryan Harrison shines in Japan
Ryan Harrison tallied his biggest win in 13 months after beating US Open finalist Kevin Anderson in three sets Wednesday at the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships. The win was Harrison’s biggest since beating then-World No.
6 Milos Raonic in the second round of the US Open last year.
Harrison survived 23 aces from Anderson en route to victory in over two hours and a spot in the quarterfinals, where he will face top seed Marin Cilic, who defeated wild card Yasutaka Uchiyama, 6-3, 6-4. Cilic is currently No. 7 in the ATP Race To London, 45 points behind sixth-placed Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov.
Earlier, David Goffin defeated Feliciano Lopez in straight sets to reach the quarterfinal of the event. Goffin will next face qualifier Matthew Ebden. Alexandr Dolgopolov also advanced after beating Daniil Medvedev in straight sets in their first-round showdown. Dolgopolov will face American Steve Johnson, who stunned second seed Dominic Thiem in three sets.
