Tiafoe survives thriller in Almaty; Khachanov fires past Virtanen

Frances Tiafoe dug deep to produce a thrilling comeback win Thursday and advance to the last eight at the Almaty Open.

The top seed rallied from a set down against qualifier Daniel Evans to triumph 6-7(10), 7-6(4), 6-3. Advancing to his 42nd tour-level quarter-final, Tiafoe improved to 6-3 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series.

“I just kept going, my serve was a big part of it, I served a lot of aces today,” said Tiafoe, who slammed down 21 aces in the contest. “I started coming into the net and taking more risks, instead of being patient in the rallies.

“That was tough, I knew it was going to be a battle, so I was well prepared. I’m just happy to come out with the win.”

Top seed had to fight ?@FTiafoe | @ktf_kz | #AlmatyOpen pic.twitter.com/U88JfYM2cp

In a first-set tie-break full of pendulum swings, Evans saved two set points before converting the fourth of his own with a trademark backhand winner past Tiafoe. The 26-year-old stood firm and seized his moment in the second-set tie-break before surging to a 4-0 lead in the decider.

Evans rattled off three consecutive games to spark hopes of a comeback, but Tiafoe held his nerve to close out the contest in two hours, 39 minutes.

Tiafoe will next face Aleksandar Vukic, who produced a steely performance to upset eighth seed Adrian Mannarino 7-6(4), 6-3 and reach his eighth tour-level quarter-final. The Australian’s serve was particularly clinical in the second set, during which he saved all three of the break points he faced, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

Elsewhere, Karen Khachanov claimed a 7-6(2), 7-6(3) win against Otto Virtanen to book his spot in the last eight. After trailing 2-5 in the second set, Virtanen clawed his way back to force a tie-break, but it was the third seed who pounced to seal victory in straight sets.

Khachanov, the former No. 8 in the PIF ATP Rankings, showcased his experience in a battle of two big hitters. He won 88 per cent (37/42) of points behind his first delivery and struck 21 winners in the one-hour and 36-minute contest.

The 28-year-old set up a clash with Kazakh wild card Beibit Zhukayev, who advanced to his maiden tour-level quarter-final after Tomas Machac was forced to retire in the fifth game.

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