Nadal, Djokovic, Murray All Winners, Kyrgios The Big Loser Thursday In Montreal; Serena In Toronto QFs
A trio of former champions all advanced to the Friday quarterfinals. World No. 1 Novak Djokovic breezed past the rising American Jack Sock 6-2, 6-1.
“I never played him before so it took me some time to really figure out what his patterns were of the serves, his game in general,” Djokovic said of Sock. “I did watch him many times before, but it’s different when you’re standing on the court trying to read the rotation, especially of his forehand because he’s got a very quick wrist, very quick motion, good forehand. I think the turning point was the 3‑2 game when I made a break. After that I just felt in control of the match.”
Andy Murray kept pace with Djokovic match the Serb with his 50th win of the year beating Atlanta semifinalist Gilles Muller 6-3, 6-2.
And in the evening Rafael Nadal continued his rebound on hardcourt thumping qualifier Mikhail Youzhny 6-3, 6-3, shrugging off any shoulder concerns from Hamburg.
“It’s not a problem anymore,” Nadal said. “I don’t have pain anymore in the shoulder. But during the Hamburg tournament I couldn’t serve very well. I was just trying to put serves in, very slow speed. But happy the way I served today. I think I was serving very well tonight.”
Nick Kyrgios was the talk of tennis today but big John Isner shut him up for a little while, beating the beleaguered Australian 7-6, 6-3.
“It wasn’t that bad. I was expecting it a little,” said Kyrgios about the crowd reaction. “It’s behind me now. Of course, I apologized publicly and privately. I was fined. I think we can move on.”
Defending champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga also won defeating Bernard Tomic 7-6, 7-5. And Kei Nishikori stayed hit dismantling David Goffin 6-4, 6-4. Nishikori now faces Rafael Nadal
In the quarterfinals, Djokovic will face qualifier Ernests Gulbis who beat Donald Young.
Murray will match-up with Tsonga and Isner collides with Frenchman Jeremy Chardy, a winner over Ivo Karlovic. Tsonga beat Murray a year ago in Toronto.
“That was a tough one for me to lose,” Murray said. “I was up a break in that match in the third set. I was going through a difficult period there, having played a poor match at Wimbledon, was struggling a bit with my confidence. I remember that match pretty well. Managed to win against him a few weeks later at the US Open, which was for me a big win. At that time it was very important for me, that one.
“But it’s very different conditions here to Toronto. I would expect a slightly different match. But Jo’s always tough to play against. He will be pumped to try to defend his title here. It will be a tough match.”
Djokovic and Nadal are also in night doubles matches. Nadal and Fernando Verdasco will face the Bryans!
In the women’s event in Toronto, Serena Williams rolled Andrea Petkovic in the evening. She’ll meet Roberta Vinci in the quarters Friday night.
“I still think I have a tremendous amount of improvement to do off the ground and everywhere else, though,” Serena said. “I just felt off. Just gotta be more positive out there again. I just felt a little negative.
“So, I’m just going to get back in that positive attitude and go from there.”
Vinci’s countrywoman Sara Errani scored the win of the day shocking Victoria Azarenka. And Simona Halep outlasted Angelique Kerber 6-3, 5-7, 6-4.
“I knew I had to win it, because at the end I was so tired I couldn’t move anymore,” Halep said. “I served well in the last game – and I finished the match with an ace. I remember the match before I did the same thing, knowing I had to finish the point very early, and I’m happy I did it again.”
FRIDAY MONTREAL SCHEDULE
COURT CENTRAL start 12:30 pm
[16] J. Isner (USA) vs J. Chardy (FRA)
Not Before 2:30 pm
[1] N. Djokovic (SRB) vs [Q] E. Gulbis (LAT)
Not Before 6:30 pm
[7] R. Nadal (ESP) vs [4] K. Nishikori (JPN)
[10] J. Tsonga (FRA) vs [2] A. Murray (GBR)
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