Second seed Stakhovsky moves on with straight set victory
The quarterfinals of the singles draw and the semifinals of the doubles draw are set after Thursday’s action. Day six of the tournament featured three seeds being eliminated, including sixth seed Rhyne Williams, who dropped a three-set match to Takanyi Garanganga.
The top upset of the afternoon came from Garanganga who outlasted Williams (USA) in a two-plus hour match, winning 6-3, 6-7 (3), 6-2. After dropping the first set, Williams won an emotional tiebreak in the second set in front of a strong crowd in Binghamton. However, the 23-year old Garanganga, a native of Zimbabwe, kept calm and cruised to a 6-2 triumph in the decisive third. The 311th ranked singles player in the world played strong defensively, winning 32 return points and also notched three break points compared to none from Williams.
Thanasi Kokkinakis, an 18-year old Australian, also did his best to shake up the tournament bracket by knocking-off seventh seed Austin Krajicek (USA) in Thursday’s first match. Kokkinakis, ranked just below 300 in the world, topped Krajicek with a 6-4, 6-2 victory to advance to quarterfinals action. Kokkinakis, who stands at 6-feet-5, routinely served at over 110 mph all afternoon, slamming nine aces and capturing 40-of-50 service points.
Kokkinakis will square off with second seed Sergiy Stakhovsky who also won on Thursday afternoon. Stakhovsky bested American Daniel Nguyen in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4. Stakhovsky, who once nearly graced the top-30 in the world, won three break points and is one of just three seed players to advance into the quarterfinal round.
Due to illness, No. 3 Denis Kudla could not compete in his singles bout with Ernesto Escobedo, propelling the USA product to the quarterfinals round with the forfeit. Escobedo, who plays Garanganga in his next match, should be well rested having last played on Monday defeating fellow American Mackenzie McDonald. Kudla’s absence also knocked out the second-seeded doubles team in the tournament (partners with Thanasi Kokkinakis) as Marius Copil and Sergiy Stakhovsky now march on to the semifinals of the event.
In doubles quarterfinal play, the English duo of Daniel Cox and Daniel Smethurst advanced to the semifinals after their 6-3, 6-4 straight-set victory over Garanganga and Takura Happy of Zimbabwe. Cox and Smethurst will face No. 4 seed Bradley Klahn (USA) and Jordan Thompson (AUS) who dispensed of Americans Mitchell Krueger and Mackenzie McDonald in straight sets 6-3, 6-4. In the day’s final match, Americans Jarmere Jenkins and Rhyne Williams defeated fellow countrymen Raymond Sarmiento and Daniel Nguyen, 6-2, 7-6 (4). Jenkins and Williams will face Copil and Stakhovsky tomorrow afternoon for a spot in the doubles final on Sunday.