Veteran David Ferrer breezed past Dutchman Robin Haase 6-2, 6-1 on Tuesday to reach Round 2 of the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand. Ferrer, a four-time champion at Auckland (2007, 2011-12), has announced he will retire in May after the Mutua Madrid Open, but the 36-year-old showed no signs of slowing down as he hit 16 winners and broke Haase six times.
FILE PHOTO: Tennis – French Open – Roland Garros, Paris, France – May 28, 2018 Spain’s David Ferrer during his first round match against Spain’s Jaume Munar REUTERS/Christian Hartmann
“I’m really happy I will have another chance to play again on this court, in Auckland. Thanks a lot for your support. It’s very emotional for me to be here,” Ferrer said on court after the match. “My goal is to finish as best as possible. I am very happy with my game. … I am trying to enjoy every time that I am on the court.”
Ferrer will play fellow Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta for a spot in the quarterfinals.
Tuesday featured a pair of upsets when New Zealand’s Rubin Statham, a wild-card entry, beat No. 6 seed Hyeon Chung of Korea 7-5, 6-3, and Argentina’s Leonardo Mayer dispatched ninth-seeded American Steve Johnson 7-5, 6-3. Statham, No. 310 in the ATP Rankings, will face Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff in Round 2, while Mayer will next face Italian Matteo Berrettini.
In other action, Frenchman Ugo Umbert beat Uruguay’s Pablo Cuevas 7-5, 6-1, and he next will take on Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber. Germany’s Peter Gojowcyzk took down Guido Pella of Argentina 6-1, 3-6, 6-2. He will take on No. 2 seed Fabio Fognini of Italy.
Sydney International
Australian John Millman reached the second round in Sydney on Tuesday, beating American Frances Tiafoe 4-6, 7-6 (5), 7-5. The Brisbane native will meet seventh-seeded Marton Fucsovics for a place in the quarterfinals. Hungarian Fucsovics, 26, beat Australian wild card James Duckworth 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Qualifier Andrey Rublev upset sixth-seeded Lucas Pouille of France 6-2, 6-3. The 21-year-old Russian needed just 66 minutes to win his match and next will face Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka in Round 2. No. 8 seed Andreas Seppi of Italy beat France’s Jeremy Chardy 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 to set up a second-round matchup vs. Slovakia’s Martin Klizan. Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez also advanced with a win over American Denis Kudla 7-5, 6-4 and will face third seed Diego Schwartzman if Argentina in the second round.
In Round 2 action, Australian wild card Jordan Thompson beat lucky loser Taro Daniel of Japan 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-0 to reach the quarterfinals. Thompson will meet either countryman Alex de Minaur or American Reilly Opelka.
—Field Level Media