Almaty Open—Kazakhstan
Khachanov Reaches Almaty Quarterfinals; Haddad Maia Advances in Ningbo
No. 3 seed Karen Khachanov advanced to the quarterfinals of the Almaty Open on Thursday, defeating Otto Virtanen from Finland 7-6(2), 7-6(3).
Needing one hour and 36 minutes to advance, Khachanov hit five aces, won 88 percent of his first serve points and broke serve on one occasion.
The Russian, who is currently ranked No. 26 in the world, will next face Beibit Zhukayev in the final eight.
Zhukayev advanced to his first-career Tour quarterfinal after No. 5 seed Tomas MacHac was forced to retire trailing 3-1 in the first set.
Other results on the day saw defending champion and No. 8 seed Adrian Mannarino lose in straight sets to Aleksandar Vukic 7-6(4), 6-3.
Still to come on Thursday, top seed Frances Tiafoe will face Brit Dan Evans for a place in the quarterfinals.
Lehecka Reaches Antwerp Quarterfinals
No. 5 seed Jiri Lehecka stormed into the quarterfinals of the European Open in Antwerp, Belgium on Thursday, defeating Daniel Altmaier 6-4, 6-3.
Still to come on Thursday, No. 2 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, No. 4 seed Sebastian Baez and No. 8 seed Marcos Giron will be in action.
Rublev Looks to Reach Stockholm Quarterfinals
Top seed Andrey Rublev will look to reach the quarterfinals of the BNP Paribas Nordic Open in Stockholm, Sweden on Thursday when he faces Alexandre Muller.
Rublev, who has won two titles this year, is currently ranked No. 7 in the world.
No. 3 seed Grigor Dimitrov, No. 5 seed Nicolas Jarry and Stan Wawrinka will also be in action on Thursday.
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Ningbo Open—Ningbo, China
Top seed Beatriz Haddad Maia scored a hard-fought victory at the Ningbo Open on Thursday, defeating Katie Boulter 7-6(2), 7-5 in the two hours and 26 minutes.
Haddad Maia, who is currently ranked No. 10 in the world, hit six aces, won 77 percent of her first serve points and broke serve on two occasions.
The Brazilian will next face No. 8 seed Paula Badosa for a place in the semifinals.
Other winners on the day saw No. 4 seed Barbora Krejcikova and No. 7 seed Anna Kalinskaya reach the quarterfinals. Krejcikova ousted Ye-Xin Ma 7-6(5), 6-3, and Kalinskaya dismissed Yue Yuan 6-3, 6-3.
Upsets in Osaka
Upsets were on deck at the Kinoshita Group Japan Open in Osaka on Thursday. Three of the four seeds in action were dismissed in round of 16 action. Home-country favourite Sara Saito defeated No. 5 seed Elina Avanesyan and Kimberly Birrell advanced when No. 3 seed Elise Mertens was forced to retire trailing 4-1 in the third set.
Ana Bogdan also dispatched No. 4 seed Marie Bouzkova 6-0, 7-6(5).
The lone seed to advance on the day saw No. 7 seed Diane Parry defeat Greet Minnen 6-4, 6-2.
Parry is the highest seeded player left in the event. She will face Clara Tauson for a place in the quarterfinals.
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