Matching Report
Nakashima saves MPs, advances to Hangzhou QFs
Kukushkin, Hijikata progress
September 20, 2024
(File Photo) Jamie Squire/Getty Images
Nakashima saved two match points to advance to his 14th ATP Tour quarterfinals.
Written by Krishna Gowda
Fourth seed Brandon Nakashima saved two set points to defeat #NextGenATP star Coleman Wong 6-7(7), 7-6(4), 6-1 on Friday and advance to the quarter-finals of the Hangzhou Open.
Nakashima, who is ranked as high as No. 39 in the PIF ATP Rankings, held on to save two match points as he served from 6-5 down in the second set. The American hit 39 winners to beat the 20-year-old in two hours and 40 minutes.
The former Next Gen ATP Finals presented PIF winner has maintained his momentum in recent months, posting an 11-4 record since August, including a fourth-round run at the US Open. At Flushing Meadows he defeated Lorenzo Musetti and Holger Rune as he matched his best run in a Grand Slam.
Nakashima advanced to his 14th ATP Tour quarterfinals where he will face Australia’s Rinky Hijikata, who advanced after Fabian Marozsan withdrew due to illness.
Mikhail Kukushkin rolled back the years as he beat Alexander Shevchenko 6-4, 7-6 (3) in the Kazakhstan clash.
The 36-year-old converted three of his five break chances as he reached the quarter-finals of the ATP Tour in four years (Nur-Sultan 2020).
Kukushkin broke a six-year drought on the ATP Challenger Tour earlier this year, claiming titles in Manama and Tenerife. The former number 39 in the PIF ATP Rankings will face second seed Karen Khachanov or Yunchaokete Bu next.
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