US top seed John Isner and second-seeded defending champion Ivo Karlovic advanced to the quarter-finals of the ATP Hall of Fame Championships with straight-set triumphs Wednesday at Newport, Rhode Island.
Isner, the 2011 and 2012 winner at the grass-court event, fired 13 aces in defeating Australian qualifier Sam Groth 6-2, 6-4. The hard-serving American improved to 3-0 all-time against Groth, who dropped prior meetings in Davis Cup ties this year and last year, with the 61-minute triumph.
Croatia’s Karlovic, 38, defeated American Denis Kudla 6-4, 6-4 to reach the final eight. Karlovic, seeking his ninth career ATP crown, lost the 2014 and 2015 Newport finals before downing Gilles Muller 14-12 in a third-set tie-breaker to win last year’s championship match.
Isner advanced to a quarter-final matchup against the winner of a later match between Canadian qualifier Frank Dancevic and American Dennis Novikov.
Germany’s Tobias Kamke pulled the biggest upset so far, ousting French third seed Adrian Mannarino 7-6 (7/5), 7-5. He will next face either Slovakian sixth seed Lukas Lacko or Aussie qualifier Matthew Ebden.
Also advancing was fourth-seeded Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert, who outlasted Spain’s Adrian Menendez-Maceiras 7-5, 2-6, 6-3. His next opponent will be the later winner between Australian Akira Santillan and American Bjorn Fratangelo.
Join GhanaStar.com to receive daily email alerts of breaking news in Ghana. GhanaStar.com is your source for all Ghana News. Get the latest Ghana news, breaking news, sports, politics, entertainment and more about Ghana, Africa and beyond.