He next faces American sixth-seed John Isner who got past Australian John Millman 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-4.
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The giant Croat’s total number of aces now stands at a staggering 10,237, 10 clear of previous record holder and compatriot Goran Ivanisevic.
Pennetta left the door open a crack ever so slightly for a possible return next year to play at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Kiwi tennis player Michael Venus and Chinese doubles partner Mao-Xin Gong have been beaten overnight in the first round of the $3.9million China Open in Beijing by world No. 1 Novak Djokovic and younger brother Djorde. It’s great that it happened here.
ATP keeps track of every player’s ace count for all major tournaments excluding Davis Cup matches. They include aces served in main draw ATP World Tour and Grand Slam matches, and the Olympics from 2008 on.
“I’m not done yet”.
Another strong serving display did not prevent the 6ft 11in Karlovic losing 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (9-7) to Uruguay’s Pablo Cuevas, however. “I don’t have to keep just one decision because I said something”.
Fifth-seeded Garbine Muguruza celebrated her 22-year-old birthday at China Open with a birthday cake from organizors, and more importantly, a 1-6, 6-2 and 6-1 win over Mirjana Lucic-Baroni and the ticket to Singapore for WTA Finals.
The 22-year-old joins Simona Halep and Maria Sharapova in the singles field of eight, with five more spots yet to be determined.
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Last month’s US Open finalists both also suffered upsets with New York victor Flavia Pennetta, who is set to retire at the end of the season, going out 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
