Chengdu Open—Chengdu, China
US Open semifinalist Grigor Dimitrov advanced to the quarterfinals of the Chengdu Open on Thursday after defeating Dan Evans, 7-5, 7-5. Evans, who hails from Birmingham, is currently ranked No. 48 in the world and pushed Dimitrov in both sets before falling short. Dimitrov will be looking for his first title victory this week since capturing the ATP Tour Finals back in 2017. Dimitrov’s chances of hoisting the title increased after the top three seeds were bounced. Top seed John Isner lost to Egor Gerasimov 6-7(11), 7-6, 7-6; No. 2 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime was upended by Joao Sousa 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-4 and No. 3 seed Benoit Paire lost to Pablo Carreno Busta 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.
*****
Huajin Securities Zhuhai Championships—Zhuhai, China
Over in Zhuhai, China, top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas felt the hangover of playing the Laver Cup over the weekend as he was forced to retire after losing the second set to Adrian Mannarino 3-6, 7-5. Mannarino will next face qualifier Damir Dzumhur, who defeated fellow qualifier Soonwoo Kwon 7-6, 6-2.
Elsewhere, No. 2 seed Roberto Bautista Agut defeated Pablo Andujar 7-5, 7-5 and No. 4 seed Borna Coric ousted Di Wu 6-3, 6-3.
Italian Andreas Seppi also advanced to the quarterfinals after dismissing Zhizhen Zhang 7-6, 4-6, 7-6. Seppi got past Australian Nick Kyrgios in round one in straight sets.
