ATP wrap: Tiafoe upsets Del Potro at Delray Beach

Frances Tiafoe won a thrilling second-round contest against Juan Martin del Potro as the younger generation took charge at the Delray Beach Open.

American Tiafoe claimed one of the biggest wins of his career as he held his nerve to beat No.10 Del Potro 7-6 (6) 4-6 7-5.

The 20-year-old from Maryland hit 17 aces and saved 14 break points as he overcame the former US Open champion in two hours and 27 minutes.

“It’s unbelievable definitely. Two weeks in a row in the quarters,” Tiafoe told atpworldtour.com.

“I really wanted that win to make a statement. I’ve had a tonne of tough losses against top guys.”

Tiafoe goes on to face South Korea’s Hyeon Chung, who is back to winning ways in his first tournament since reaching the Australian Open semi-finals.

Eighth seed Chung beat Croatia’s Franko Skugor 6-4 7-6 (4).

Happy with my win today. Thank you @DelrayBeachOpen fans for your support.
?? ???? ???! ???? pic.twitter.com/7QAzjT6f7a

— Hyeon Chung (@HyeonChung) February 23, 2018

Canadian Denis Shapovalov and American Taylor Fritz will meet in the quarterfinals after the pair both came through in three sets.

Shapovalov beat fellow rising star Jared Donaldson 6-7(6) 6-4 6-4 in a match spanning almost two-and-a-half hours, while Fritz overcame Russian veteran Mikhail Youzhny 6-1 4-6 6-3.

Injury strikes again for Wawrinka

Second-seeded Stan Wawrinka hobbled out of the Open 13 second round after retiring when trailing 6-4 1-1 against Ilya Ivashka on Thursday.

The three-time Grand Slam champion still appears to be struggling with his troublesome left knee and looked upset as he left the court.

This loss follows the 32-year-old Swiss player’s unexpected first-round defeat to 259th-ranked Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor at the ABN AMRO World Tournament in Rotterdam last week.

“Practice went well during the last two days, but a match is always different,” the Swiss told atpworldtour.com.

“It’s obviously difficult, but I need to focus on the positive things each day and keep working hard.”

> ICYMI: Wawrinka’s struggles continue in comeback

Ivashka advances to the quarterfinals against Frenchman Nicolas Mahut, who upset sixth-seeded Gilles Muller of Luxembourg 3-6 6-2 6-4.

Meanwhile, Tomas Berdych rallied to reach the last eight; the fourth-seeded Czech laboured to a 5-7 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 win against unheralded Italian Stefano Travaglia, who had 18 aces.

Berdych next plays seventh-seeded Damir Dzumhur of Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Monfils ousts top-seeded Cilic

Frenchman Gael Monfils beat top-seeded Marin Cilic 6-3 7-6(8) on Thursday to advance to the quarterfinals of the Rio Open.

Monfils finished Cilic off in five minutes after their match was interrupted by heavy rain on Wednesday night.

That’s … a lot. https://t.co/0RH5BS85Op

— Tennismash (@tennismash) February 22, 2018

Next up for Monfils is Argentinian Diego Schwartzman.

Cilic has won only one match on the clay in Rio in his first tournament since reaching the Australian Open final in January.

Fourth-seeded Fabio Fognini also advanced with a 4-6 6-4 7-6(6) victory against American Tennys Sandgren.

The Italian will face Slovenian Alijaz Bedene, who eliminated No. 3 seed Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain with a 6-2 5-7 6-2 win.