Delray Beach, USA
Rinky Hijikata has advanced to his third career ATP Tour quarterfinal after a three-set win over Italy's Matteo Arnaldi at the 250 hard-court event in Florida's Delray Beach.
The Aussie youngster beat the world No.43 6-2 3-6 6-4 to reach his second quarterfinal of the season, after also doing so at the Brisbane International in January.
Hijikata clinched victory with a powerful forehand winner and will next face Taylor Fritz, after the No.1 seed beat Portugal's Nuno Borges.
Finished in style 👌
Rinky Hijikata pounds a forehand winner to seal a thrilling contest over Arnaldi to reach the QF at the @delraybeachopen! pic.twitter.com/8gkaa8HSLN
- Tennis TV (@TennisTV)
target="_blank">February 14, 2024
This performance is expected to return Hijikata to the world's top 80 and closer to his career-high of world No.70, achieved last October.
Fellow Aussie Jordan Thompson could join Hijikata in the Delray Beach; Thompson next faces American qualifier Nicolas Moreno de Alboran, a match scheduled for Thursday afternoon (local time).
Capping a positive day, Hijikata returned to the court later and won his first-round doubles match alongside William Blumberg.
Aussies in action - Delray Beach
RESULTS
Men's singles, second round
Rinky Hijikata (AUS) d [6] Matteo Arnaldi (ITA) 6-2 3-6 6-4
Men's doubles, first round
Andrew Harris (AUS)/Dominik Koepfer (GER) d [4] Gonzalo Escobar (ECU)/Aleksandr Nedovyesov (KAZ) 7-6(5) 7-6(5)
[WC] Rinky Hijikata (AUS)/William Blumburg (USA) d Francisco Cabral (POR)/Henry Patten (GBR) 6-4 6-2
COMING UP
Men's singles, quarterfinals
Rinky Hijikata (AUS) v [1] Taylor Fritz
Men's singles, second round
Jordan Thompson (AUS) v [Q] Nicolas Moreno de Alboran (USA)
Men's doubles, quarterfinals
Andrew Harris (AUS)/Dominik Koepfer (GER) v Diego Hidalgo (ECU)/Cristian Rodriguez (COL)[WC] Rinky Hijikata (AUS)/William Blumburg (USA) v [1] Santiago Gonzalez (MEX)/Neal Skupski (GBR)
Rotterdam, Netherlands
Alex de Minaur continued his winning ways at the ATP 500 indoor hard-court tournament in Rotterdam, beating David Goffin in straight sets on Wednesday.
The No.5 seed's 6-3 6-1 win over Goffin followed on from his 6-4 6-3 win over Sebastian Korda a day earlier.
He improves to 8-2 in season 2024 and is projected to return to the world's top 10.
De Minaur's win sets up a quarterfinal showdown with Andrey Rublev - a rematch of their high-quality fourth-round clash at AO 2024, which Rublev won in five sets.
Rublev saved three match points to overcame Felix Auger-Aliassime in the second round.
RESULTS
Men's singles, second round
[5] Alex de Minaur (AUS) d [Q] David Goffin (BEL) 6-3 6-1
COMING UP
Men's singles, quarterfinals
[5] Alex de Minaur (AUS) v [2] Andrey Rublev
Men's doubles, quarterfinals
[Q] John-Patrick Smith (AUS)/Andreas Mies (GER) v [1] Ivan Dodig (CRO)/Austin Krajicek (USA)
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