As the tournament gets tighter, Qatar ExxonMobil Open gets the royal treatment
The 26th edition of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open is sure to explore uncharted territories as it enters the next stage of matches.
This is because seven of the eight seeds in the tournament have already fallen, four in the first round and three in the second, reported Gulf Times.
On a day when HH The Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani took time off to watch some of the matches, it was 24-year-old Austrian top-seed Dominic Thiem who made the best shots.
Thiem stayed on course and took his appointed place in the quarterfinals with a straight sets win over Slovenian Aljaz Bedene, reported Qatar Tribune.
He outclassed Bedene 7-5, 6-4 to make it to the last eight of his first tournament of the 2018 season.
The competition, which saw the withdrawals of Novak Djokovic, Stan Wawrinka and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga due to injuries, is sure to have a new champion this year. This is because defending champion Richard Gasquet, seeded fifth, had fallen early.
Earlier in the day, Russia’s Andrey Rublev, 20, ousted Spain’s seventh-seeded Verdasco in three sets (6-4, 3-6, 6-4). Wildcard World No.138 Mirza Basic shocked eighth seed Lopez 6-4, 7-6 (2).
Croatian Borna Coric, meanwhile, followed up his impressive upset victory over second seed Carreno Busta with a 6-1, 6-3 romp over Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili.
Frenchman Gael Monfils, who was given a wildcard, also advanced to the quarters, beating German Jan-Lennard Struff 6-3, 1-6, 6-3.
