ATP/WTA wrap: Goffin saves match points

Wednesday was one of those disjointed days where the first round finished and the second round began all at once at ATP and WTA events across Europe and the United States.

We wrap up the best of the action …

ATP Gstaad: Goffin fights for his life

In just the third match in his comeback from an ankle injury sustained at Roland Garros, top seed David Goffin showed signs of rust as he battled for more than two-and-a-half hours against Radu Albot. Goffin saved four match points before eventually subduing the Moldovan 2-6 7-6(7) 7-6(7), and will next face No.6 seed Robin Haase, who beat Thiago Monteiro in straight sets.

Also advancing to the quarters were second seed Roberto Bautista Agut and Denis Istomin, while Ernests Gulbis – entered into the draw using a protected ranking – beat German qualifier Daniel Brands to reach the last 16.

WTA Bastad: Garcia thumps Errani

Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia was in no mood to be kept on court longer than she had to be, swatting aside Sara Errani – a former world No.5 and Roland Garros finalist – 6-1 6-0 in just 54 minutes. “It was definitely a good match, very different from yesterday – her game suits me a little bit better than the game of (Irina-Camelia) Begu,” the third seed told wtatennis.com. “But it’s always been a battle in the past against Sara, so I’m very happy with the way I played today. I had good timing and everything was going well. I’m happy it was fast.”

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No.2 seed Anastasia Sevastova was the highest-ranked player in Bastad to progress to the quarters on Wednesday; her 6-2 6-3 win over Elizaveta Kulichkova set up a meeting with seventh seed Katerina Siniakova.

ATP Hamburg: Ferrer extends winning streak

Bastad champion David Ferrer has now won six matches on the trot after overcoming Nikoloz Basilashvili in three sets to reach the second round in Hamburg. In a depleted draw already down its top two seeds, Ferrer – a former world No.3 – was the biggest name in action. Meanwhile, sixth seed Diego Schwartzman advanced to the quarterfinals with a 1-6 6-4 6-2 win over German qualifier Cedrik-Marcel Stebe.

WTA Nanchang: Rodionova continues to roll

Arina Rodionova reached the first WTA quarterfinal of her career – a day after knocking out defending champion Duan Ying-Ying – with a 6-4 6-2 win over Liu Fangzhou. Having won six of her past seven matches, the Australian will next tackle her third straight Chinese opponent in Han Xinyun, who beat fourth seed Wang Qiang.

In a 32-player draw featuring 16 Chinese players, Kristyna Pliskova was among the non-local players competing on Wednesday; the third seed beat Korea’s Su Jeong Jang 6-3 7-6(4) to kick off her campaign at the International-level tournament.

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ATP Atlanta: Big servers prevail

John Isner continued his strong form on home soil with a 6-3 6-4 win over Vasek Pospisil. Having won last week’s ATP tournament in Newport, Isner moves through to the quarterfinals where Slovak Lukas Lacko awaits. Also advancing was fellow big server Gilles Muller, who needed three sets to get past qualifier Quentin Halys. Next up for Muller? Another qualifier – this time American Tommy Paul, who came back from a set down to beat Malek Jaziri.