Tennis: Federer, Raonic, Kyrgios advances, Edmund eliminated at Cincinnati Masters
Wed Aug 15, 2018 08:07:am Sports
5.1K By Obiaks Blog
Roger Federer began his US Open preparation with a quick 6-4 6-4 defeat of Peter Gojowczyk in his first Cincinnati Masters appearance since 2015.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion, who turned 37 last week, is pacing his tennis year, playing a limited schedule and skipping events when he feels the need to rest.
He has missed the last two editions of this tournament because of injury.
Federer's defeat of the 47th-ranked German in 72 minutes on Tuesday night marked his first step towards a possible eighth title at the tournament.
"I felt good in that first match, to be honest, walking out, hardly any nerves. I think I knew what I had to do," Federer said.
"It's fast-court tennis. I knew my opponent was going to go for it and take big cuts at the ball. So there is only so much you can really do.
"It's nice to have played a match so that my last match was not the Anderson match... you've kind of turned the page. It's a good thing.
"The goal is now to recover from this match, take the positives with me. Of course, the big goal is the US Open."
The contest was the first for the Swiss since losing to Kevin Anderson in five sets in the Wimbledon quarter-finals on July 11.
Eighth seed Dominic Thiem was forced to withdraw without hitting a ball. He was suffering from a virus.
- Edmund eliminated -
Kyle Edmund has been eliminated from the Cincinnati Masters after a straight-sets defeat to Denis Shapovalov on Tuesday night.
Shapovalov won 6-4 7-5 in the round of 32 to send British No 1 Edmund home, 24 hours after Andy Murray was sent packing.
Two-time semi-finalist Milos Raonic had little trouble in booking a second-round date with lucky loser Malek Jaziri after a routine 6-3 6-3 victory over Dusan Lajovic.
- Raonic, Kyrgios advances -
Raonic would have faced world no 1 Rafael Nadal in the last 32, but the Spaniard's withdrawal on Monday means Jaziri takes his spot in the draw and Raonic will be favourite to advance to what would be an all-Canadian third-round showdown with Shapovalov.
Nick Kyrgios saved two match points on his way to a hard-fought victory over American qualifier Denis Kudla.
The Australian rallied from losing the first set on tie-break to take the second before the decider went the distance - and Kyrgios, seeded 15th, eventually prevailed to set up a second-round meeting with Borna Coric, who beat Daniil Medvedev.
Stefanos Tsitsipas, who beat Novak Djokovic earlier this week, lost 7-5 6-3 to David Goffin.
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The 20-time Grand Slam champion, who turned 37 last week, is pacing his tennis year, playing a limited schedule and skipping events when he feels the need to rest.
He has missed the last two editions of this tournament because of injury.
Federer's defeat of the 47th-ranked German in 72 minutes on Tuesday night marked his first step towards a possible eighth title at the tournament.
"I felt good in that first match, to be honest, walking out, hardly any nerves. I think I knew what I had to do," Federer said.
"It's fast-court tennis. I knew my opponent was going to go for it and take big cuts at the ball. So there is only so much you can really do.
"It's nice to have played a match so that my last match was not the Anderson match... you've kind of turned the page. It's a good thing.
"The goal is now to recover from this match, take the positives with me. Of course, the big goal is the US Open."
The contest was the first for the Swiss since losing to Kevin Anderson in five sets in the Wimbledon quarter-finals on July 11.
Eighth seed Dominic Thiem was forced to withdraw without hitting a ball. He was suffering from a virus.
- Edmund eliminated -
Kyle Edmund has been eliminated from the Cincinnati Masters after a straight-sets defeat to Denis Shapovalov on Tuesday night.
Shapovalov won 6-4 7-5 in the round of 32 to send British No 1 Edmund home, 24 hours after Andy Murray was sent packing.
Two-time semi-finalist Milos Raonic had little trouble in booking a second-round date with lucky loser Malek Jaziri after a routine 6-3 6-3 victory over Dusan Lajovic.
- Raonic, Kyrgios advances -
Raonic would have faced world no 1 Rafael Nadal in the last 32, but the Spaniard's withdrawal on Monday means Jaziri takes his spot in the draw and Raonic will be favourite to advance to what would be an all-Canadian third-round showdown with Shapovalov.
Nick Kyrgios saved two match points on his way to a hard-fought victory over American qualifier Denis Kudla.
The Australian rallied from losing the first set on tie-break to take the second before the decider went the distance - and Kyrgios, seeded 15th, eventually prevailed to set up a second-round meeting with Borna Coric, who beat Daniil Medvedev.
Stefanos Tsitsipas, who beat Novak Djokovic earlier this week, lost 7-5 6-3 to David Goffin.
SKYSPORTS
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