British No 2 Cameron Norrie knocks out Karen Khachanov to reach the third round of the Barcelona Open as he continues his excellent start to the season; Petra Kvitova begins her title defence in Stuttgart with a win
Tuesday 20 April 2021 23:53, UK
Cameron Norrie continued his fine 2021 season by knocking out 12th seed Karen Khachanov to reach the third round of the Barcelona Open.
Russian Khachanov defeated Norrie comfortably when they met on hard courts in Rotterdam in March but it was a different story on the Catalonian clay.
British No 2 Norrie looked to have seen his advantage slip when Khachanov, ranked 23, took the second set and went an early break up in the third.
But Norrie responded with a run of five games in a row and clinched a 6-4 3-6 6-3 victory to set up a clash with eighth seed David Goffin.
Denis Shapovalov and Jannik Sinner began their campaigns with second-round victories.
Both young talents had byes in the first round, and seventh seed Shapovalov overcame Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 6-3 7-5.
Italian teenager Sinner broke into the top 20 for the first time this week and continued to rack up victories, beating Egor Gerasimov 6-3 6-2.
Fifth seed Roberto Bautista Agut, who will be Sinner's next opponent, eased to a 6-4 6-0 win over fellow Spaniard Pablo Andujar.
Petra Kvitova began the defence of her Porsche Tennis Grand Prix title in Stuttgart with a straight-sets victory over Jennifer Brady.
Kvitova defeated Anett Kontaveit to win the title the last time the event was held in 2019 and she overcame a tough draw against Australian Open runner-up Brady, winning 6-4 6-3.
Fifth seed Aryna Sabalenka eased to a 6-2 6-2 victory over Zhang Shuai while Kontaveit defeated German qualifier Julia Middendorf 6-2 6-3.
At the TEB BNP Paribas Tennis Championship Istanbul, top seed Elise Mertens raced into round two with a 6-2 6-0 victory over Lara Arruabarrena.
Second seed, and 2019 champion, Petra Martic fell, though, beaten 7-5 6-2 by Fiona Ferro while sixth seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova was upset by her young Russian compatriot Anastasia Potapova.
Third seed Veronika Kudermetova needed three hours to see off Bernarda Pera 6-4 3-6 7-6 (7-4), nearly two hours longer than it took fourth seed Daria Kasatkina to thump Tereza Mrdeza 6-1 6-0.
Home favourite Cagla Buyukakcay, playing following the death of her former coach Can Uner, was beaten 6-7 (8-10) 6-2 6-0 by fifth seed Barbora Krejcikova.
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