Ageless Felicano Lopez downs Fabio Fognini as he wins two matches in one day in Auckland

ATP Tour

Michael Graham
January 16, 2020

Feliciano Lopez continued to defy the ageing process as he won two matches at the ASB Classic in Auckland on Wednesday, beating top seed Fabio Fognini in the process.

In a packed schedule due to a rain delay on Tuesday, Lopez beat fellow Spaniard Pablo Andujar 3-6 7-6 (4) 6-4 before returning to the court to sink Fognini 3-6 6-4 6-3.

Just as he had against Andujar, the 38-year-old rallied from a set down against the world number 12, serving 17 aces as he advanced in one hour and 58 minutes.

Lopez will next face Polish sixth seed Hubert Hurkacz, who was a 6-2 7-6 (2) winner over Swedish qualifier Mikael Ymer.

Third seed Karen Khachanov was another to fall as he was beaten 4-6 6-3 6-3 by local favourite John Millman, but second seed Denis Shapovalov avoided a similar mishap in a 6-4 7-6 (2) win over Canadian compatriot Vasek Pospisil.

Fourth seed John Isner beat fellow American Tennys Sandgren 7-6 (3) 6-7 (1) 6-3, while there were also wins for fifth seed Benoit Paire, British number one Kyle Edmund, and Frenchman Ugo Humbert.

Third seed Andrey Rublev continued his stunning start to the new season with a 6-3 6-3 win over American Sam Querrey in the second round of the Adelaide International.

Fresh from winning his third career tournament in Qatar last week, Rublev broke the big-serving Querrey twice in each set as he advanced to the next round.

Second seed Felix Auger-Aliassime progressed with a 6-3 7-6 (0) win over James Duckworth, and fourth seed Pablo Carreno Busta beat Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 6-3 6-2.

Qualifiers Tommy Paul and Lloyd Harris progressed with wins over Pablo Cuevas and Laslo Djere respectively, while Albert Ramos-Vinolas and wild card Alex Bolt were the day’s other winners.

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Feliciano Lopez