Tommy Paul achieved his personal best of 42 singles victories this season, as the fourth seed overcame Laslo Djere with a score of 6-2, 7-6 (2) on Wednesday at the BNP Paribas Nordic Open in Stockholm. Paul, who previously won this tournament in 2021, fired seven aces and 27 winners, compelling Serbia’s Djere to fend off nine out of twelve break points, thereby advancing the American to the quarterfinals.
Casper Ruud, the second seed, marked his return to this event since 2019 by becoming the first Norwegian to secure a victory in Stockholm, defeating Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego 6-3, 7-6 (3). Ruud is set to compete against Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands, who is seeded seventh and triumphed over British qualifier Jacob Fearnley 7-6 (0), 6-3.
Switzerland’s Stan Wawrinka secured a 6-4, 6-4 win against No. 6 seed Brandon Nakashima. Meanwhile, Dominic Stricker from Switzerland progressed in his second-round match against Italy’s Matteo Berrettini with a score of 7-6 (6), 6-4.
At the European Open, top seed Alex de Minaur made a comeback from an initial set loss to conquer Spain’s Roberto Carballes Baena 2-6, 6-4, 6-2, thus advancing to the quarterfinals in Antwerp, Belgium. The Australian had not competed since the U.S. Open quarterfinals due to a hip injury. He delivered 24 winners to offset 31 unforced errors.
His upcoming challenger is France’s Hugo Gaston, who triumphed in a two-hour and 50-minute clash against Argentina’s seventh-seed Mariano Navone with scores of 6-4, 6-7 (3), 7-6 (4). Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut made history by becoming the oldest quarterfinalist at the age of 36, after defeating Argentina’s sixth-seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry 7-6 (2), 6-4. Canada’s third-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime overcame a sluggish beginning to secure a 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-2 win over Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics.
At the Almaty Open, fourth-seeded Francisco Cerundolo halted the impressive run of German wild-card Justin Engel, securing a 6-4, 7-6 (3) victory and advancing to the quarterfinals in Kazakhstan. Engel, aged 17, had earlier made history by defeating Coleman Wong on Monday, becoming the first player born in 2007 or later to win an ATP Tour match. Argentina’s Cerundolo capitalised on Engel’s 35 unforced errors compared to his own 24 to clinch the win.
In other second-round matches, Chile’s second-seeded Alejandro Tabilo dispatched Germany’s Maximilian Marterer in straight sets, winning 6-2, 6-4. Canada’s Gabriel Diallo overcame Croatia’s Borna Coric with a score of 7-6 (1), 6-4. Meanwhile, Kazakhstan’s Alexander Shevchenko defeated Russian qualifier Aslan Karatsev with a scoreline of 6-1, 6-7 (5), 7-5.
