Dubai: Roberto Bautista Agut and Tomas Berdych joined the exit list of seeds as the quarter-final line-up began taking shape at the Dubai Tennis Championships on Wednesday.
Bautista Agut went down in three sets — 4-6, 6-3, 5-7 — against unseeded countryman Fernando Verdasco in nearly two-and-a-half hours of action on a hot afternoon, while fifth seed Berdych caved in, losing 6-3, 3-6, 4-6 to a gallant Robin Haase from the Netherlands.
Steadying the ship was the fourth-seeded Frenchman and World No 12 Gael Monfils, who swept aside Great Britain’s Daniel Evans 6-4, 3-6, 6-1.
Bautista Agut and Berdych joined second seed and defending champion Stan Wawrinka and eighth seed Gilles Muller on the early exit list at this tournament that celebrates its silver jubilee this year.
Both Spaniards were coming in following strong starts to the season, with sixth-seeded Bautista Agut already winning the Chennai Open while left-handed Verdasco nearly upset Novak Djokovic on his way to the semi-finals at the Qatar Open.
Though this was the fourth career meeting between the two good friends, it was only the first time-ever that the duo was playing on hard court. The win also enabled Verdasco to improve his career record against Bautista Agut to 3-1.
“I knew that it was going to be tough, because every time I play him, it’s like that. He’s one of the most solid guys on the ATP Tour right now. Maybe he doesn’t have an unbelievable serve, but he has a really good forehand, and I think his movement on the court is quick and he’s one of the best when it comes to mentality. It doesn’t matter what the score is, he’s always giving his 100 per cent, and that is what makes him so tough to beat,” Verdasco explained.
After an early exchange of breaks, Verdasco broke a second time in the fifth to then serve out the set 6-4 in an agonising 50 minutes. In the second set, it was the seeded player dominating and a break in the sixth was enough to hand Bautista Agut the set 6-3.
In the decider, Verdasco broke in the fourth and then held for 4-1, only to see his opponent break back in between two held serves for 4-4. But the left-hander had enough to register one final break in the 12th to walk away with set and match and a meeting with Monfils in the quarter-finals.
“I was quite surprised to see such a strong response from him [Evans]. I knew it would be a tough one, but I didn’t anticipate it to be so close. He has improved quite a bit and I am sure things can only get better for him,” Monfils said.
In the first set, Monfils broke in the fifth and held for 4-2 to win 6-4 in 32 minutes. In the second Evans and Monfils exchanged breaks in the fourth and fifth, and the Briton nosed ahead 4-2 with a second break in the sixth to take the set 6-3. The third set proved to be one-sided with the Frenchman dominating with some steady play from the baseline.
“Tomorrow there is going to be a lot of running as he [Verdasco] doesn’t give you any easy balls,” Monfils said of his quarter-finals encounter against the unseeded Spaniard.
RESULTS
(Men’s Singles)
Fernando Verdasco bt Roberto Bautista Agut 6-4, 3-6, 7-5; Philipp Kohlschreiber bt Daniil Medvedev 6-4, 6-4; Lucas Pouille bt Marius Copil 6-1, 6-4; Gael Monfils bt Daniel Evans 6-4, 3-6, 6-1; Robin Haase bt Tomas Berdych 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
