Day 3 of the Rakuten Japan Open 2022 went underway earlier today in Tokyo. Third seed Taylor Fritz and seventh seed Denis Shapovalov were the notable picks of the day as they were favored to win their matches out on court.
A lot of lengthy duels were seen on court today. The pick of them was the matchup between James Duckworth and Taylor Fritz. The American had recently been out of COVID quarantine and was playing his first match after that. The first set went to Fritz in comfortable fashion as he won it 6-2. The next set proved to be challenging and Duckworth managed to take it into a decider as he won it 7-6 (7-2 in the tiebreak). But the American held his nerve to pull the momentum back his way as he dominated the deciding set to win it 6-1 and take the match. With the victory he moves on to the round of 16.
Seventh seeded Canadian Denis Shapovalov was in action at the Ariake Coliseum against American Steve Johnson. The Canadian put up a strong showing as he won the match in straight sets 6-3 7-6 (7-3 in the tiebreak). He was also through to the last 16.
In the other games, Pedro Martinez took down Jaume Munar in a tight contest that saw it go the distance. Martinez dethroned his fellow countryman 4-6 6-3 6-1.
Miomir Kecmanovic took down the home favorite and Korean Open champ Yoshihito Nishioka in a tough match where he had to battle through three sets. Yoshioka started in style as he won the opening set 6-2. But Kecmanovic did not break down and turned the tide as he won the next two 7-6 (7-1 in the tiebreak) 6-2. The Serb was up and running in Tokyo as he moves to the last 16.
Kwon soon-wo of Korea was victorious in his round of 16 clash with American Mackenzie McDonald in three sets. The Korean won the match 6-3 6-7 (4-7 in the tiebreak) 6-2.
Thursday brings us more round of 16 action as fourth seed Frances Tiafoe takes on Spain’s Bernabe Zapata Miralles. Fifth seed Nick Kyrgios, victorious in his doubles match today with Thanasi Kokkinakis, takes on Poland’s Kamil Majchrzak. Ninth seed Borna Coric takes on Brandon Nakashima. Seventh seed Denis Shapovalov is up against Rio Noguchi. Miomir Kecmanovic takes on eighth seed Dan Evans. And finally Taylor Fritz takes on Hiroki Miroya.
Image credits: atptour.com
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