Big Day for Americans at Heineken Open
It was a good day for the United States Auckland’s Heineken Open on Wednesday, beginning with American Jack Sock's upset of the second-seeded Tommy Haas, 6-4, 6-4. The 21-year-old Sock, currently ranked 100th in the Emirates ATP Rankings, advances to his third ATP Tour-level quarterfinal and next meets Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut, a 6-3, 6-4 winner over the sixth-seeded Benoit Paire.
John Isner, the number three seed, followed Sock's upset with a 7-6(1), 3-6, 6-2 win over Slovakia's Lukas Lacko and moves on to face former Auckland champion, Philipp Kohlschreiber. The fifth-seeded Kohlschreiber cruised to a 6-4, 6-2 win over Argentina's Horacio Zeballos.
Lucky loser Steve Johnson knocked out 2006 Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis 7-5, 6-7(3), 6-4, while American qualifier Bradley Klahn was a 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 winer over Germany's Daniel Brands. Both Johnson and Klahn returned to the court later in the day and produced mixed results, with Johnson defeating the fourth-seeded Kevin Anderson 7-5, 6-4, while Klahn fell to Yen-Hsun Lu 6-7(3), 6-2, 6-3.
Also on Wednesday, it was top seed and four-time champion David Ferrer of Spain winning his 550th ATP Tour-level match, defeating American qualifier Donald Young, 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-1. Up next for Ferrer in the quarterfinals is fellow countryman Guillermo Garcia-Lopez.
