A MIXED bag of results were had across the board at all three ATP Tour tournaments yesterday, with the ATP 500 event in Hamburg and 250 clay event in Nordea continuing their Round of 16, while at the grass event in the United States, the quarter finals begun.

At Hamburg, three of the four seeds reigned supreme, with just fourth seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas falling in the second round to Argentinian Federico Delbonis in straight sets, 6-3 7-6, with the Argentinian improving his win record to 6-2 against Ramos-Vinolas. But proceedings went much easier for second seed Pablo Carreno Busta, who overcame compatriot and qualifier Carlos Taberner 7-5 6-3 in one hour and 46 minutes.

”I knew that it was very important at the beginning of the match because it was his fourth match here and it was my first one, so it can be difficult,” Carreno Busta said. “I was very focused on my game, I tried to be aggressive all the time.

”Carlos then started to play more aggressive from 1-4 and hit more winners, so I continued fighting and I am happy as it is important [to get through] the first match.”

Carreno Busta will next take on fifth seed Serbian Dusan Lajovic, who was the only player taken to three sets on the day with a 6-4 6-7(2) 6-3 victory over Slovak Alex Molcan. Lajovic required close to three hours to close out the match, winning 66 per cent of his first serve points on his way to the win. Meanwhile, eighth seed Benoit Paire rounded out the winners with a close shave over qualifier Juan Pablo Varillas, 7-5 7-6(8) in two hours and three minutes.

At Nordea, top seed Casper Ruud claimed the win of the day over Danish young gun Holger Vitus Nodskov Rune, 6-0 6-2 in just 65 minutes. With six aces and an 87 per cent win rate off his first serve, it was a confidence-boosting win for the Norwegian.

“I am very happy today. It is a surface I have had the most success of my career, it is great to be back here in Bastad,” Ruud said. “The tournament is so nice as always. There is a bit of extra pressure [being the top seed]. In a match like this against a fellow Scandinavian younger player, it is even more.

“I think I was very professional in my mindset today. I played a match without any errors really from the first to the last point. It is a nice feeling being the top seed but also pressure. I felt great crowd support, it is nice to feel that energy.”

Ruud will next take on Swiss talent Henri Laaksonen after the qualifier defeated wildcard hometown hopeful Elias Ymer. Roberto Carballes Baena and Norbert Gombos will go head-to-head in the quarter finals, after the duo executed upset victories over third seed Fabio Fognini and eighth seed Emil Ruusuvuori, respectively.

At the Newport quarter finals, it was Alexander Bublik and Kevin Anderson who came away with wins, as both seeds overcame their lower-ranked opposition. While Kazakh talent Bublik controlled proceedings against Chinese Taipei’s Jason Jung from the get-go to reign supreme 6-2 6-4, it was a different story for the hard-hitting South African who was forced to overcome a huge start from American wildcard Jack Sock to eventually claim the come-from-behind 6-7(5) 6-2 6-4 victory.

“I was up against a really, really good player. Jack has had a couple of tough years, but his level is way above his ranking,” Anderson said. “I really had to dig deep, it was a very physical match and conditions were much warmer today. I thought I did a good job, battling hard and fighting for every point. Fortunately, I was able to figure out a way to come through in the end.”

Anderson hit a whopping 20 aces for six double faults to claim the win, winning 90 per cent of his first serve points in the process. He and Bublik will go head-to-head for the first time in the semi final, with the Kazakh talent also relying on his strong serve to take out victory, with 14 aces to his name and a win rate of 85 per cent off his first serve.

“There are a lot of positives: staying confident throughout the entire match, and staying focused against such a tricky opponent. He runs around a lot and plays very solid,” Bublik said. “I tried to keep my nerves together and served well, which definitely helps.”

HAMBURG EUROPEAN OPEN ROUND OF 16 RESULTS:

[2] Pablo Carreno Busta (ESP) defeated [Q] Carlos Taberner (ESP) 7-5 6-3
Federico Delbonis (ARG) defeated [4] Albert Ramos-Vinolas (ESP) 6-3 7-6
[5] Dusan Lajovic (SRB) defeated [Q] Alex Molcan (SVK) 6-4 6-7 6-3
[8] Benoit Paire (FRA) defeated [Q] Juan Pablo Varillas (AUT) 7-5 7-6

NORDEA OPEN ROUND OF 16 RESULTS:

[1] Casper Ruud (NOR) defeated [WC] Holger Vitus Nodskov Rune (DEN) 6-0 6-2
Roberto Carballes Baena (ESP) defeated [3] Fabio Fognini (ITA) 6-3 1-6 6-4
Norbert Gombos (SVK) defeated [8] Emil Ruusuvuori (FIN) 6-2 6-4
[Q] Henri Laaksonen (SUI) defeated [WC] Elias Ymer (SWE) 6-2 7-5

HALL OF FAME OPEN QUARTER FINALS RESULTS:

[1] Alexander Bublik (KAZ) defeated Jason Jung (TPE) 6-2 6-4
[8] Kevin Anderson (RSA) defeated [WC] Jack Sock (USA) 6-7 6-2 6-4

Picture credit: ATP Tour