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World number 12 David Goffin notched his 41st victory of the season, taking down Evgeny Donskoy by 7-6 6-3 in an hour and 23 minutes for the place in the quarter-final, his 9th of the season. It was a solid match from both, with only 3 break points up for grabs, and it was Belgian who prevailed in the first set tie break and with one break in set number 2.
David played well behind his first serve, struggling a little bit more on the second but he had to play against 1 break point in the first set. Donskoy was also solid, keeping his second serve safe, and he was 2 points from taking the opener in the breaker.
The first set was quick and fluid, with 6 commanding holds for Evgeny and 1 loose service game for David when he had to save that break point in game 6. They both served well in the rest of the set and it had to be decided in the tie break, staying neck and neck until 5-5, with 3 mini-breaks on each side.
Goffin made a crucial move in the 12th point, taking the tie break 7-5 and moving a set away from the triumph. The second set brought a similar scenario, with 8 easy holds on both sides, but Donskoy got broken in game 4 to fall 3-1 behind and he didn't have a chance to pull the break back until the end of the match.
The 6th seed Damir Dzumhur had a chance to take an extra day off after winning his first ATP title in St. Petersburg on Sunday, and he advanced to the second round after a 6-4 7-5 win against John Millman in an hour and 17 minutes. Bosnian fired 11 aces and he lost 15 points in 11 service games, facing 4 break points and dropping serve twice.
On the other hand, he won 43% of the return points, edging Millman in the rallies to create 7 break opportunities and steal his serve 4 times, enough to prevail in straight sets. The players traded breaks in games 3 and 4 and stayed toe to toe until 4-4 when Damir broke again in game 9 to take a 5-4 lead.
Dzumhur closed the set on own serve and he continued in the same style in set number 2 as well, breaking John at love to move in front. The Aussie pulled the break back immediately and nothing could separate them in the next 8 games, as they both served well to reach 5-5 in no time at all.
Instead of sending the set into a tie break, Millman got broken in game 11 and Damir didn't need the second invitation, wrapping up a win with a hold at love in game 12 to reach the last 16. 2 years ago, Zhizhen Zhang qualified for the main draw to make his ATP debut in Shenzhen, reaching the second round, and he made one additional step, advancing to his first ATP quarter-final after a hard-fought 4-6 6-3 7-6 victory against the 4th seed Paolo Lorenzi, in just under 2 and a half hours. 20-year-old, who is among the tallest Chinese players, fired 12 aces and he saved 5 out of 7 break points to stay in contention with the Italian veteran, who also lost serve twice but from just 4 break points he gave to his opponent.
Almost nothing could separate them, Zhang won just 1 points more than his rival, but despite his inexperience, he managed to grab the most important points in the deciding tie break and pave his way into the last 8. Lorenzi served well in the opening set and he embraced a chance to break his opponent in game 7 after Zhizhen missed an easy volley at the net.
Paolo closed the opening set with an ace, looking to keep the same level of tennis in set number 2. There, we saw some good serving from both and Lorenzi continued to hold without any troubles, facing no deuces or break points in his first 8 service games.
The 7th game could have proved to be crucial once again, with Zhang saving a break point when Paolo missed an easy backhand far behind the baseline. This was a game changer, as Lorenzi lost his serve for the first time in the following game when he sent a backhand wide.
Chinese wrapped up a set with 3 service winners in game 9, sending the match into a decider and having the momentum on his side. Paolo lost his focus completely and he got broken in the third game, after a double fault, leaving the faith of the match in the hands of his opponent.
Zhang couldn't stay in front for too long, though, dropping serve at love in game 6 and facing another pair of break points in game 8. He saved the first with a service winner and the second with a brave backhand attack to get out of jail, and they both served well in the remaining games to reach the tie break.
Leading 4-3, Zhang made a mini-break following another backhand error from the Italian and he concluded the match with 2 volley winners for his biggest success on the Tour so far. Wednesday's results:
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