DONALD YOUNG JR. PLAYS HIS WAY INTO MEMPHIS TENNIS QUARTER-FINALS, ALL ATP SCORES & RESULTS FROM ROTTERDAM TOO

Written by: Staff on 11th February 2016

DONALD YOUNG JR. PLAYS HIS WAY INTO MEMPHIS TENNIS QUARTER-FINALS, ALL ATP SCORES & RESULTS FROM ROTTERDAM TOO

epa05155471 Donald Young of the US in action against Marcel Granollers of Spain in the second round of the Memphis Open tennis championship at the Racquet Club of Memphis in Memphis, Tennessee, USA, 11 February 2016. EPA/TANNEN MAURY |

By Ricky Dimon

Although three-time defending champion Kei Nishikori looks like a shoe-in for the Memphis Open title match in the top half of the draw, the other final spot may be completely up for grabs. It appears as if Donald Young is interested in being the one to snag it. After earning a bye as the No. 3 seed, Young’s week got off to a roaring start on Thursday afternoon when he took care of Marcel Granollers 6-1, 7-6(2).

The 48th-ranked American dropped serve in the opening game of the match but promptly reeled off six in a row to take the first set with ease. It was Granollers’ turn to battle back from a break down in the second, which the Spaniard did to force a tiebreaker. But Young restored order by rolling through the ‘breaker with the loss of only two points.

“It was good,” the Atlanta native assured. “Apart from the first game it was a really solid match. I was able to be aggressive and put some pressure on and not allow him to do the usual mix of shots that he likes to pull out. I didn’t want to go three. Anything could happen in the third if he got momentum.

“This year, it’s the best I’ve played–even though I haven’t played many matches.“

Young’s next match will come on Friday against Ricardas Berankis, who beat Damir Dzumhur 6-3, 6-4 in the second round. Berankis closed things out in style by breaking to love at 5-4 in set two.

A much less straightforward affair took place across the pond when Gilles Simon and Alexander Zverev battled for a place in the quarterfinals of the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament. Fresh off a semifinal showing last week in Montpellier, Zverev remained in outstanding form by upsetting Simon 7-5, 3-6, 7-6(4) in two hours and 55 minutes.

A back-and-forth contest saw Zverev storm ahead by a set and a break. Simon recovered to steal the second set before surging ahead by a break in the third. But the third-seeded Frenchman took his foot off the gas pedal and Zverev capitalized by breaking back and ultimately forcing a decisive tiebreaker. The 18-year-old German clinched victory with consecutive mini-breaks at 5-4 and 6-4, both on unforced errors in the net by Simon.

Zverev’s reward is a date with another Frenchman–Gael Monfils–on Friday.

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand.

RESULTS – THURSDAY, 11 FEBRUARY 2016

Singles – Second Round

[WC] A. Zverev (GER) d [3] G. Simon (FRA) 75 36 76(4)

[6] R. Bautista Agut (ESP) d J. Vesely (CZE) 46 62 64

[8] V. Troicki (SRB) d H. Chung (KOR) 76(5) 62

[Q] N. Mahut (FRA) d J. Chardy (FRA) 75 62

M. Klizan (SVK) d M. Baghdatis (CYP) 63 62

Doubles – Quarter-finals

H. Kontinen (FIN) / J. Peers (AUS) d [2] I. Dodig (CRO) / M. Melo (BRA) 36 76(2) 10-7

N. Mahut (FRA) / V. Pospisil (CAN) d [4] R. Bopanna (IND) / F. Mergea (ROU) 36 61 10-8

SCHEDULE – FRIDAY, 12 FEBRUARY 2016

CENTRE COURT start 11:00 am

P. Petzschner (GER) / A. Peya (AUT) vs D. Inglot (GBR) / R. Lindstedt (SWE)

Not Before 12:30 pm

[Q] N. Mahut (FRA) vs [8] V. Troicki (SRB)

Not Before 2:30 pm

M. Klizan (SVK) vs [6] R. Bautista Agut (ESP)

[1] J. Rojer (NED) / H. Tecau (ROU) vs G. Muller (LUX) / N. Zimonjic (SRB)

Not Before 7:30 pm

P. Kohlschreiber (GER) vs [2] M. Cilic (CRO)

[5] G. Monfils (FRA) vs [WC] A. Zverev (GER)

Topics: 10sballs.com, Abn Amro World Tennis Tournament, Alexander Zverev, Atp World Tour, Damir Dzumhur, Donald Young, Gael Monfils, Gilles Simon, Marcel Granollers, Memphis Open, Men's tennis, Ricardas Berankis, Sports, Tennis News

Follow 10SBALLS.COM on:

Facebook:

Twitter:

3peakcoaching says:

February 11, 2016 at 6:35 pm

RT @10sBalls_com: -@Yimlife1313 Plays His Way Into #MemphisOpen QuarterFinals, Scores/Results From Rotterdam..
https://t.co/WxFnRbOqdy http…
tennis_onthego says:

February 13, 2016 at 7:00 pm

RT @10sBalls_com: -@Yimlife1313 Plays His Way Into #MemphisOpen QuarterFinals, Scores/Results From Rotterdam..
https://t.co/WxFnRbOqdy http…