Three seeded Americans recorded straight-set victories to easily advance at the Atlanta Open on Wednesday in Georgia.
Fourth-seeded Frances Tiafoe cruised past Japanese qualifier Taro Daniel 7-5, 6-4, No. 5 Tommy Paul easily dispatched Soonwoo Kwon of South Korea 6-3, 6-3, and No. 8 Brandon Nakashima ousted Australian John Millman 7-6 (8), 6-4.
A fourth, Reilly Opelka, was forced to withdraw from the tournament with an injury. Lucky loser Sean Johnson took his spot and was slated to play Belarusian Ilya Ivashka later Wednesday.
Generali Open
Serbia’s Dusan Lajovic advanced by upsetting No. 4 Aslan Karatsev of Russia 7-5, 6-3 in Kitzbuhel, Austria.
Three of four Spaniards who played won their matches in straight sets. Third-seeded Roberto Bautista Agut soared past wild card Jurij Rodionov of Austria 6-1, 6-4, Albert Ramos-Vinolas handled Peru’s Juan Pablo Varillas 6-3, 6-4, and Pedro Martinez buzzed by Federico Coria of Argentina 6-4, 6-3.
Pablo Andujar was the only Spaniard to suffer defeat, falling to Austrian wild card Filip Misolic 6-4, 6-0.
In an all-Austrian match, Dominic Thiem, who is playing on a protected ranking, got by qualifier Sebastian Ofner 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.
Other results included Jiri Lehecka of the Czech Republic besting eighth-seeded Joao Sousa of Portugal 7-6 (6), 1-6, 6-3, and German Yannick Hanfmann taking down Russian Ivan Gokhav 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-4.
Croatia Open Umag
Spaniards Bernabe Zapata Miralles and Roberto Carballes Baena both managed to pull off upsets in their respective matches in Umag, Croatia.
Zapata Miralles battled back to edge third-seeded Holger Rune of Denmark 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, while Carballes Baena followed a similar path to best No. 5 Alex Molcan of Slovakia.
Second-seeded Italian Jannik Sinner bested Spain’s Jaume Munar in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4. His fellow countryman, qualifier Giulio Zeppieri, also earned a win, defeating Colombia’s Daniel Elahi Galan 6-4, 3-6, 6-1.
–Field Level Media