Wild and wacky day in Montreal includes Donald Young’s upset of Berdych by Ricky Dimon.
Nick Kyrgios’ controversial comments in his night match against Stan Wawrinka (that’s for a whole different story altogether) may steal all of Wednesday’s headlines at the Rogers Cup, but they should not overshadow what was a surprising slate of second-round action.
Among the upsets was Donald Young’s 7-6(5), 6-3 defeat of Tomas Berdych. The 79th-ranked American needed one hour and 40 minutes to pull off the biggest victory of his season.
“I [had not] played him before so it was a first time,” Young commented. “I didn’t know what to expect. I know he hits big. I hadn’t started as well as I wanted to and I was missing a lot of shots but then I started to relax a little bit and with confidence from winning a few matches, I felt pretty good towards the end.”
Pretty good? More like great.
Young, who had to qualify in order to punch a ticket to the main draw, did not face a single break point in the second set while winning all 15 of his first-serve points. He lost a mere six points in total in five service games.
“It’s big for me because the middle part (of the year) was awful so this part, to start going better, is good for me,” Young assessed. “It’s in North America on hard courts, which is my favorite surface. I love playing in this part of the world, so I’m happy to do well.”
Next up for the Atlanta native is an all-qualifier showdown with Ernests Gulbis, who ousted Lukas Rosol 6-2, 5-7, 6-3. Their only previous showdown came five years ago in Cincinnati, where Gulbis fought past Young 7-6(5), 6-4.
It was a mostly productive day for American men, as John Isner and Jack Sock joined Young in the last 16. A red-hot Isner downed Vasek Pospisil 7-6(1), 4-6, 6-3 and Sock saved one match point before upsetting Grigor Dimitrov 5-7, 7-6(5), 7-5.
Briefs
* Nadal defeats Stakhovsky, will pass Cilic for No. 8 in the world
* Cilic goes down to Tomic, who is almost assured of top 25
* Sock surprises Dimitrov, pretty much locks up seed for U.S. Open
* Kyrgios gets past Wawrinka, secures spot in top 40
* Muller outlasts Monfils, now in position to reach top 40
* Young stuns Berdych, clinches place in top 70
* Gulbis takes down Rosol, moves comfortably into top 80
* Youzhny emerges from slump, beats Simon for likely spot in top 100
Topics: Atp World Tour, Donald Young jr, Montreal, Nick Kyrgios, Ricky Dimon, Rogers Cup, Sports, Stan Wawrinka, Tennis News, Tomas Berdych
WILD AND WACKY DAY IN #Montreal INCLUDES YOUNG’S UPSET OF BERDYCH- http://t.co/W6U2KK3KJp @Yimlife1313 @tomasberdych #RogersCup