September 18 – Japan’s Taro Daniel ended an 11-match losing streak on Wednesday with a stunning 6-4, 7-5 victory over sixth-seeded Lorenzo Sonego in the first round of the Chengdu Open in China. The win marked Daniel’s first since April when he triumphed at the Mutua Madrid Open.
Daniel played a consistent match, striking 11 winners and committing 11 unforced errors, while Sonego, despite hitting 26 winners, was undone by 33 unforced errors. Daniel’s win brings relief after months of struggles on the tour.
In other Chengdu Open action, Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, the seventh seed, battled past Chinese wild card Fajing Sun 6-7 (5), 7-5, 6-4 in a grueling two-hour, 28-minute match. It was Mpetshi Perricard’s second hard-court victory this season.
Meanwhile, Lukas Klein made history by becoming the first Slovakian to win a match at the Chengdu event, defeating Australia’s Adam Walton 7-6 (3), 6-4 with the help of 12 aces.
Hangzhou Open
At the Hangzhou Open, Croatia’s Marin Cilic, making his return to the ATP Tour after knee surgery, secured a comeback win over Zachary Svajda, 5-7, 6-3, 6-0. This was Cilic’s first match since February, and the 20-time tour winner used 14 aces and seven service breaks to storm back after dropping the first set.
Other notable results saw Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan upset fifth-seeded Luciano Darderi of Italy, 6-3, 6-4, while Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan, the seventh seed, dispatched Italy’s Luca Nardi in a dominant 6-0, 6-2 victory.