Nick Kyrgios v Borna Coric In Estoril; Juan Martin Del Potro Advances In Munich

In a Next Gen battle, Nick Kyrgios and Borna Coric will meet Friday in the Estoril quarterfinals. Today, Kyrgios, who turned 21 on Wednesday, won both meeting against the 19-year-old Coric in juniors.

“The only thing I remember was the surface they were on,” said Kyrgios. “I played him once on grass and I think the other time was on hard court. He’s improved a lot, we’ve both improved, and we’ve both gone different paths. He’s developed in different ways. He’s a great player, but last time I played him was on the grass and I was a lot more comfortable, I think, on that surface. Tomorrow’s going to be a great match either way.”

Added Coric, “[Kyrgios] is the favourite so I have nothing to lose. But I’ll never come into a match with the mindset that I can’t win. I’ll do my best but I’ll be there to win. It will be an enjoyable match for sure.”

Top seed Gilles Simon and former Top 10 Nicolas Almagro also are into the quarterfinals. Simon will meet Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta.

In Munich, Juan Martin del Potro continues his return to clay with a three set 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 victory over German Jan Lennard Struff. Next up is another German in veteran Philipp Kohlschreiber.

“My movement on the court isn’t the best right now, but the important part is to win matches on clay for the first time in many years,” del Potro said. “I’ve never played in such cool conditions, but it’s the same for all players.

“[Kohlschreiber] is a great player. I’ll just try to keep improving my game. He’s the favourite for sure, on this court.”

Top seed David Goffin was a winner, he’ll now face 19-year-old Alexander Zverev. And Fabio Fognini also notched a victory.

And in Istanbul, top seed Bernard Tomic fell to Diego Schwartzman meekly 6-2, 6-2 while Ivo Karlovic earned his first match win of the season and the 300th of his career with a victory over Duas Lajovic.

Second seed Grigor Dimitrov faces Jiri Vesely tomorrow in the pick of the quarterfinals.