Taylor Fritz, Sebastian Korda set for Dallas clash

Top-seeded Taylor Fritz and Sebastian Korda both won all-US matchups on Wednesday, putting them in line for a quarterfinal clash at the Nexo Dallas Open.

Fritz downed Brandon Nakashima 6-3, 6-4 in second-round action, and Korda topped eighth-seeded Frances Tiafoe 7-5, 6-1. Fritz owns a 3-1 career edge in meetings with Korda, including a win in their most recent matchup last year in Tokyo.

Third-seeded Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain also moved into the quarterfinals, beating the United States’ Alex Michelsen 6-4, 6-4.

The conclusion of the first round also featured two all-U.S. showdowns. Fifth-seeded Tommy Paul overtook Jenson Brooksby 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (4), and Ethan Quinn nipped Trevor Svajda, a 19-year-old SMU player who received a wild-card entry, 7-6 (3), 7-5.

France’s Adrian Mannarino topped Australia’s Adam Walton 6-4, 6-2 in the last first-round match.

ABN Amro Open

Second-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada, the 2022 event champion, defeated Australia’s Alexei Popyrin 7-5, 6-3 in first-round action at Rotterdam, Netherlands.

Auger-Aliassime recorded the first service break of the match to close out the first set, and he got the only break of the second set in the next-to-last game. Popyrin failed to take advantage of his only two break points, both in the first set.

In second-round play, Australia’s Christopher O’Connell upset sixth-seeded Cameron Norrie of Great Britain 7-6 (9), 6-4, and seventh-seeded Tallon Griekspoor topped France’s Quentin Halys 7-5, 7-6 (11).

Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas beat eighth-seeded Arthur Rinderknech of France 7-5, 6-3 in a first-round match. Third-seeded Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan, fifth-seeded Karen Khachanov of Russia, and Guy Den Ouden of the Netherlands, and Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland also advanced to the second round.

IEB+ Argentina open

Seventh-seeded Tomas Martin Etcheverry prevailed in a marathon all-Argentine clash, edging Roman Andres Burruchaga 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 6-4 in the second round at Buenos Aires.

Burruchaga won one more point than Etcheverry, 122-121, but fell short in the 3-hour, 37-minute match.

Another Argentine, top-seeded Francisco Cerundolo, held on to beat Bolivian qualifier Hugo Dellien 6-0, 7-6 (6). Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo eliminated third-seeded Joao Fonseca of Brazil 6-3, 3-6, 7-5, and the Czech Republic’s Vit Kopriva downed eighth-seeded Matteo Berrettini of Italy 6-4, 6-3.

In the final first-round match, Argentina’s Mariano Navone routed the United States’ Emilio Nava 6-2, 6-1.