Tipsarevic Moves Into Quarterfinals of Japan Open
World number nine-ranked Janko Tipsarevic has advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2012 Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships, defeating qualifier Marco Chiudinelli 6-4, 6-2. The third-seeded Tipsarevic hit 10 aces and saved all six break points against his serve to defeat Chiudinelli in just under two hours. The Serbian evened his record against Chiudinelli to a 1-1 mark. Tipsarevic will face the sixth-seeded Canadian Milos Raonic, who advanced in a walkover after Viktor Troicki retired from their second-round match down 0-3 in the first set with a right calf injury.
Also moving on was Marcos Baghdatis who scored a huge upset over the fourth-seeded Juan Monaco 7-5, 1-6, 6-3 to win back-to-back matches for the first time since the London 2012 Olympics.
“It was a very tough match. When you go on the court, you always believe that you can win. I’m very happy I won today and look forward to tomorrow’s match,” said Baghdatis. “I’m very happy I’m here. Every time I come here, I love it. The people are great, the tournament is great, and the atmosphere in centre is very good. I just want to go out there to find a way to win and fight in every match.”
Also advancing was the second-seeded Tomas Berdych, who claimed his 50th match win of the season, defeating Alejandro Falla 6-3, 7-5. In the quarterfinals, Berdych will play the number eight seed, Kei Nishikori. After losing his opening set to Tommy Robredo, Japan’s top-ranked player stormed past the Spaniard, winning 12 of the final 13 games in the match. In the third set, Nishikori won all 12 points on serve to advance to his first quarterfinal on home soil in just under two hours.
