Del Potro Advanced, Dimitrov Dumped In Beijing; Shapovalov Upsets Wawrinka In Tokyo

by Staff | October 3rd, 2018, 9:21 pm
  • 37 Comments

US Open finalist Juan Martin del Potro was the big winner on the day, beating Karen Khachanov 6-4, 7-6 to reach the Beijing quarterfinals. The victory also clinched del Potro for a berth in the ATP Finals next month in London.

“I’m happy to get in London after five years. Will be amazing moments for me. I will love to be part of that eight players, to make that event. Of course, it’s a very special tournament for us,” Del Potro said.

The Argentine now faces Paris indoor finalist Filip Krajinovic who was a winner over Feliciano Lopez.


Kyle Edmund also won over Matteo Berrettini. He’ll now face Dusan Lajovic after the Serb stunned Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.

No. 2 seed Alexander Zverev returns Thursday to take on Malek Jaziri and Fabio Fognini battles Andrey Rublev.

In Tokyo Wednesday, Denis Shapovalov scored a big win taking out his idol Stan Wawrinka 4-6, 6-1, 6-4.

“It didn’t even hit me until I walked on the court with him and he was on the other side and I couldn’t help but almost smile in a way. It kind of got to me, I got a little bit tight but I refocused and I thought to myself, ‘Okay it’s not Stan’,” Shapovalov said. “It was great to be on the court with him. It’s a dream come true. But it’s one of those memories I’m never going to forget. It’s one of those ‘what you live for’ moments. It’s a great day today.”

Favorites Kei Nishikori and Milos Raonic also advanced. Kevin Anderson, Nick Kyrgios and Alex De Minaur won opening round matches.

Tomorrow, De Minaur meets Stefanos Tsitsipas, Anderson takes on Tiafoe and Kyrgios collides with Richard Gasquet.


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37 Comments for Del Potro Advanced, Dimitrov Dumped In Beijing; Shapovalov Upsets Wawrinka In Tokyo

Humble Rafa Says:

As long as you leave the Elf free in December to do his thing, he is fine.


Margot Says:

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/oct/02/ballboy-tennis-fernando-verdasco-novak-djokovic

This is a fun article. Glad to know Andy (Murray) was sometimes “grumpy” but never “abusive!” ;)


Andy Mira Says:

M!…Yeah!….i already read that article yesterday…And agree too about Andy…

Btw…u watch Tsitsi/De Minaur atm M?OH WOW!!

WB!Your countryman is AWESOME!…Tsitsi served for the match at 5 3…but end up losing the set!DeMinaur fighting spirit is UNBELIEVABLE!


FedExpress Says:

Dimitrov nothing more than a journey man now.

Was generally overhyped. Was always a Ferrer career like player at best.


chofer Says:

FedExpress

Don’t insult Ferrer, please.


J-Kath Says:

Ditto Chofer.


chris ford1 Says:

David Ferrer is one of my heroes. Though I root for Djokovic, I never saw David as a “pusher”. Just someone that lacked the serve or world class forehand and backhand – and he just defied the coaches and tennis schools that said he’d never crack the Top 100 with his limits. He poured his heart into showing them wrong, using the tools he had to often beat more talented players.
His best years were in his late 20s and early 30s. Called a “Pro’s pro” by Djokovic and Federer. Separately. Rafa Nadal said that David was a better player than several one-time Slam winners.

Persevere! Never Quit. Play your guts out in Davis Cup and on Tour!

David Ferrer. Role model and fine person.


Wog Boy Says:

AM,
Yes, the boy has big heart and never give up atitude, but he is starting to look too much like his mentor Hewitt, regarding his style, not to my liking.
He is wasting to much energy by playing the way he does now. He is going to burn himself down.
I don’t know who is his coach, but he has to move away from Hewitt’s game and start to play more efficient and more smart tennis, he is great material for a good coach and with great future.
I am planning to watch him during AO, already booked hotel and plane, after my self imposed exile from watching ATP, though I watch occasionally WTA, I am warming up to Sabalenka, and was posting about her year ago here.


Andy Mira Says:

WB!….Oh my God!Your thought exactly like mine re. DeM!…Oh…how i wish him to find another coach who will exploit his talent & great stamina & speed & turned him to be a more dangerous & aggressive player like Nishikori,Schwartzman who also have a small stature compared to other players…He have to change his game style if he wants to challenge for bigger titles…Watching him is very enjoyable..but very frustrating too coz he just run..and run…If only he’s willing to take more chances & applied going for broke tennis or unleashed DTL shot more often..and that combined with his speed…oh wow!…i can’t imagine how explosive he would be!

I Certainly will watch him & Ash Barty too at AO WB….About Sabalenka…oh God!…this is another one with great talent…and fearless!And is in great great form…Definitely one to watch at AO….She’s the giant slayer WB!…


Wog Boy Says:

“……and fearless.”
That’s the way to describe her, aggressive and fearless, she plays tennis players across the net, not the names.
Maybe that’s because her coach (Tursunov) is still young enough and good enough to play competitive tennis (younger than some active players) on pro circuit, so she basically plays man tennis on daily basis and has the best possible practice partner.
Coincidentally her rise started after Tursunov took over from Magnus Norman (he went back with Stan) as Sabalenka head coach.


Wog Boy Says:

I just checked WTA race and was really surprised that Sabalenka is #10 in the race to Singapore with fairly good chance to make top 8, with a bit of luck.


Wog Boy Says:

AM, funny you mentioned Barty, by the age of 18 she was burned out, couldn’t cope with pressure and expectations and left tennis, but then decided she would play Cricket instead and played competitive cricket for more than a year, then she came back to tennis at the age of 20 better and more hungry than ever.
It looks like hitting the other ball with the other stick did miracles for her.


Andy Mira Says:

Yeah WB!She needs a lot of luck indeed!..She needs to reach semis at least to still be in contention for Singapore…But today she has to face the in form local fav Qiang Wang…let’s see whether she’s able to produce another stunning result like yesterday…

About her coach Tursunov….yeah!they’re clicking beautifully together…if not she will not be in 16th atm when she still in 101th this time last year,right?…Wow!Amazing!


Andy Mira Says:

Yeah WB!I read that about Ash…And she backed her comeback by gave a strong perfomance in Asian swing last year by winning 1 tourney(i forgot where!hehe)…And i like her very much WB!…I love her cool & calm demeanor on court…has a huge groundstrokes & serve too…

But,contrary to Sabalenka..more often than not..she failed to control her nerves in big moment…After her success in Asian Swing last year,i waited eagerly for her to make an impact at AO this year…but very frustrated when she failed to deliver…tho,i don’t blame her 1 bit…It’s hard to shouldered a responsibility & expectations from an entire nation on your head alone…But..i hope come AO next year,with her experience last year & this year,she will do much much better…


Margot Says:

AM: She’s still in hospital, her “bits” still need sorting ;) so could you give me the link to the challenge? Thank you.
I remember you talking about Barty before she took off for golf, great she’s renewed her love of tennis. Also think Sabalenka has tremendous potential. Gonna be exciting next year.
Saw Naomi has beaten Angie. I’m in a win, win situation there, like them both!


AndyMira Says:

Oh no M!…Sorry to hear that!…So,u have to do TDC via phone?…Btw…here’s the link Boss!

http://www.tennisdrawchallenge.com/bracket/edit

Oh yeah!…U watch Naomi now M?It’s pretty interesting match…Zhang definitely not scared of Naomi!…

About Saba,if she can qualify for Singapore..watch out other players!…She will make some noise!Whoooohooo!!


Margot Says:

Thank you darling AM xxxx And good luck!


AndyMira Says:

You’re welcome M!Hehe….

Oh!…U’re done picking M?Whoo!…Fed’s draw a little bit tough right?Raonic,Nishikori,DelPo…While the toughest for Nole i think it will be Tsitsi[which i doubt can hurt Nole]..and supposedly Sascha in semis[i doubt too he’ll get there]…So,Nole for the winner for me M….


Margot Says:

Me too AM. JMDP, Shap, Kei and Tsitsipas all doing really well currently and will likely be a bit knackered in Shanghai.
Don’t know about Sascha these days but Shap has started to play well again, beat Stan I noticed.


AndyMira Says:

Yes M!…Shapo is playing well..and with Sascha’s form is in limbo atm..it will not surprised me if he lost to Shapo…


J-Kath Says:

Re. Andy-Mira comment:

It will not surprise me if he loses with Lendl.


Margot Says:

AM: Where’s Jalep? Not doing her bracket.Is she OK?


Margot Says:

AM: Where’s Jalep? Not doing her bracket.Is she OK?


Andy Mira Says:

Yeah JK…Agree with that too!..I’m very interested to see how far this relationship will go…whether Lendl be able to turned Sascha into a slam champion like Andy or….it will turned out like another JCF…


Margot Says:

Hi AM! My lap top got discharged from hospital but of course her memory was wiped out….;) and when I came to register here I got modded :( so…anyway this might be the third comment on the same subject and if it is, apologies everyone else, but where’s jalep? Is she OK?


J-Kath Says:

Andy-Mira

I think Andy won a handful of Masters and a couple of Slams before Lendl while Sascha has not yet shown much consistency – I may be wrong but too lazy to check. PS: You might enjoy the article I’ve just posted on another thread.
PS: Where is Okiegal?


Andy Mira Says:

Hey M!…Yaaayyyy!…At last!….Oh!…got moderated?Hehe…Yeah!…Sean very good at that!

Bout jalep…ermm….if only we’re chatting in private M…i will tell u the reason(at least i can guess)..coz u’re also a very important person in her life u know….but,since we’re in public…so sorry M,can’t do that…I also hope she’s fine & will come back after the needed break…


Andy Mira Says:

JK…Andy won all his slams with Lendl right?

Bout Miss Okie…ermm…she confessed to me that she’s done with TX…She still reading tho sometimes…but that just it….no more involvement…she can’t take the crappy things here anymore…too dangerous for her heart…


J-Kath Says:

A-M:
You may be right re. Lendl – when my damaged fingers repair (fell off a ladder and light bulb broke)…will do better.
Miss Okie – remedy – draw a picture of the nasty poster and stick pins in it.
Ciao.


Andy Mira Says:

JK…Sorry to hear bout your fingers…hope it will get better pretty soon k?

Bout Miss Okie….i’m sure she read yor msg & will do just that!Hehe…

Have a nice day JK!


Margot Says:

AM: Don’t want to know anything whatsoever private about jalep, just saw she wasn’t doing her challenge and wondered if she was OK.
Talking about OKgiel, very sorry she’s left, but if you can’t stand the heat, you gotta stay out of the kitchen.
Jkath: ouch! :(


Andy Mira Says:

M…So so so sorry if my post implied that u wanna know anything bout jalep M!…i didn’t mean my post sounded like that at all!..stupid of me!…Sorry M!…I hope jalep is okay too…

Btw…speaking of TDC…oh boy!…what a 1st day today right?…All of us picked Nicky, wawa & Milos & got our a@$es got kicked pretty hard!Hehehe….


Margot Says:

AM: I love you to pieces and you could never upset me!
Lol, we should be so silly as to even pick those three in the first place…;)


J-Kath Says:

Taa Margot and A-M – grabbing every ounce of sympathy I can get – most calling me stupid (too near the truth to be comfortable).


AndyMira Says:

Awwww M!…Thank u mucho!!…Love u too!!

JK…https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRlnMMoOjLV1lLCgazSOhZPnJYCzw9XYrW8mtIAqZb7l1_LQpou

Oh yeah M!…I think we’re still in danger of being kick by DelPo who has a fever when he played against Niko last week…if he can’t recover in time for his 2nd rd match against Gasquet who playing really well atm…then upsets is not far away i think M….I also don’t trust Cilic & Thiem…Cilic,coz his form is not that good atm…and Thiem,this is his 1st match in Asia right?So..he maybe still adapting to the conditions….but i picked them both going deep!…Urgh!!…But,let’s see!…

And Zverev!…Urgh!…Sorry for being sooo sceptical M!…But i am very interested to follow his match against Shapo & how far he will go this time…He is in the dark place atm…


J-Kath Says:

Thank you – A-M – I can even catch the scent.

Top story: Sinner Swallows Up Zverev For Second Straight Australian Open, 3rd Slam