Tennis Action Continues at Istanbul, Munich & Estoril in ATP 250 Tournaments

Istanbul is hosting the first ever ATP World Tour event in Turkey and the organizers had their slice of luck that they have one of the greatest tennis players of all time playing in Istanbul. The TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Open is taking place in the largest tennis academy in the world at the spectacular Koza World of Sports facility. Roger Federer began his campaign on Wednesday with a victory over veteran Finn, Jarkko Nieminen and incidentally recorded his 200th match win on clay. The other ATP 250 event, BMW Open by FWU AG is underway in Munich, where Andy Murray is playing for the first time since his marriage. On Wednesday, top singles seed Murray won his doubles match with Jean Julien-Rojer as the pair ousted third seeds Raven Klaasen and Lukas Rosol in two sets to enter the quarterfinals. Among players making the quarterfinals of the BMW Open on Wednesday were; Philipp Kohlschreiber; David Goffin; Roberto Bautista Agut and Victor Estrella Burgos. In the Millennium Estoril Open at Estoril, Portugal, Robin Hasse created a flutter by knocking out the top seed Feliciano Lopez in three sets. Other winners at Estoril on Wednesday included Australian Nick Kyrgios; Nicolas Almagro and Richard Gasquet.

In the inaugural TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Open, Roger Federer began on a winning note with a 6-2, 7-5 triumph over Finland’s Jarkko Nieminen. The top seed Swiss master did not face a single break point in the entire match though there were some moments of anxiety for him in the second set that was decided in 12 games. In recording the victory, Federer became the seventh active player to reach the milestone of 200 clay-court match victories. Federer’s quarterfinal opponent will be 29-year old Spaniard Daniel Gimeno-Traver, who disposed of Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Kukushkin 6-3, 6-3. Meanwhile, Fourth seed Santiago Giraldo also entered the quarterfinals with a 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 victory over Andrey Rublev and eighth seeded Diego Schwartzman defeated Jurgen Melzer 6-0, 6-2 to take another QF spot.

In the BMW Open in Munich, Germany’s two-time champion Philipp Kohlschreiber booked the quarterfinal spot with a 6-2, 6-4 win over compatriot Alexander Zverev and fourth seeded David Goffin of Belgium overcame a stiff challenge from Italy’s Simone Bolelli with a 7-6, 6-7, 6-1 win to enter the round of eight. Other quarterfinalists at Munich included; Roberto Bautista Agut, who defeated Czech Republic’s Radek Stepnak 6-0, 6-2 and Victor Estrella Burgos, who had a hard-fought match against Janko Tipsarevic before coming through 6-4, 6-7, 7-5. Andy Murray has yet to play his singles match at Munich but he teamed up with Jean-Julien Rojer to advance to the quarterfinal with a 7-5, 6-2 victory over Raven Klaasen/Lukas Rosol. Murray/Rojer will take on Rameez Junaid/Adil Shamasdin for a place in the semifinals.

In the Millennium Estoril Open at Portugal, Robin Haase was down two match points against top seed Feliciano Lopez but he pulled himself together by winning the second set tie break and taking the match 4-6, 7-6, 6-4. In the quarterfinals, Haase will face Australian Nick Kyrgios, who defeated Filip Krajinovic 6-3, 6-3. In other matches on Wednesday at Estoril, Nicolas Almagro scored a 7-6, 6-2 victory over Argentina’s Leonardo Mayer while Frenchman Richard Gasquet had an easy match against compatriot Kenny de Schepper, who he beat 6-2, 6-3 64 minutes. In the doubles matches at Estoril, Second seeds Treat Huey and Scott Lipsky were the first pair to reach the semi-finals with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Pablo Carreno Busta and Alejandro Gonzales. Top seeded men’s doubles team of Marc Lopez and David Marrero reached the quarterfinal by beating Portuguese combo of Rui Machado/Frederico Ferreira Silva 7-6, 7-5 to take on the Spanish pair of Nicolas Almagro/Guillermo Garcia-Lopez for a place in the semifinals.