By Alberto Amalfi | @Tennis_Now | Saturday, September 21, 2024
Photo credit: Mike Own/Getty
Yasutaka Uchiyama played seed slayer at the Hangzhou Open today.
Japanese qualifier Uchiyama shocked top-seeded Holger Rune 7-5, 6-4 to advance to the Hangzhou Open quarterfinals.
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World No. 160 Uchiyama served 67 percent, pumped eight aces against one double fault and saved two of four break points in a one hour, 40-minute victory.
Former Rolex Paris Masters champion Rune struggled on second serve. Rune won just eight of 25 second-serve points and faced 14 break points in the match.
“I’m very excited, I’m happy with my performance today,” Uchiyama said. “I couldn’t imagine winning in two sets, I was just thinking about my performance, I had to play 100 per cent the whole match to get the chance to beat him, so it went well for me today.”
The 32-year-old Uchiyama advanced to his third career Tour-level quarterfinal where he will face former US Open champion Marin Cilic.
Wild card Cilic cracked 15 aces, won 26 of 28 first-serve points and faced just one break point powering past Yoshihito Nishioka 6-4, 6-1 in 69 minutes.
Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena saved two of three break points rallying past American lucky loser Mitchell Krueger 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Carballes Baena will play Zhizhen Zhang in the quarterfinals. The sixth-seeded Chinese won nine consecutive games, closing a 6-3, 6-0 win over Italian Mattia Bellucci.