Italian Luca Nardi blasted 17 winners as he downed countryman and ATP No. 20 Flavio Cobolli, 6-2, 6-3 on Thursday at Montpellier.
Nardi was one of five winners on Thursday to finalize the quarterfinal matchups of the France-based event. Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime, the No. 8 player in the world and the top-seeded player at the event, emerged from a battle with Stan Wawrinka 6-4, 7-6 (3), and will next face France’s Arthur Fils, a 7-6 (4), 7-5 winner over fellow Frenchman Ugo Blanchet.
The Netherlands’ Tallon Griekspoor — the No. 4 seed — took down Spain’s Pablo Carreno-Busta 6-4, 6-4, while the lone American competing on the day, eighth-seeded Aleksandar Kovacevic, dropped a 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4 decision to France’s Titouan Droguet. Droguet will face Griekspoor in the quarters.
Davis Cup Qualifiers
Great Britain’s Jack Draper and Cameron Norrie grabbed matching straight-set wins in Davis Cup qualifying in Oslo, Norway, giving their side a 2-0 lead over host Norway in the best-of-five competition.
The 13 winners in the first round of qualifiers will advance to the second round, set for late September.
Draper downed Viktor Durasovic 6-2, 6-2 while finishing 4-for-4 on break point opportunities. Draper, ranked No. 13 in the world, won 88% of first serve points, as opposed to Durasovic’s 53%. Norrie defeated Nicolai Budkov Kjaer 6-4, 6-4, on the strength of three break point saves.
–Field Level Media
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