SZCZECIN, September 14, 2017
In-form player Jurgen Zopp advanced to the quarterfinals of the €127,000 Szczecin Open on a pretty windy and chilly Thursday in Western Poland. The 29-year-old from Estonia defeated Yannick Maden of Germany 7-5, 6-4 in one hour and 43 minutes.
“I was just focused on my own game, trying to play big and to avoid long rallies. That is my strength,” Zopp told Tennis TourTalk after the encounter.
The World No. 217 is currently in great shape. Zopp won four of the last five tournaments he entered, lifting the trophies at three ITF Futures as well as at the ATP Challenger in Alphen aan den Rijn last weekend.
Asked about the secret of his recent success, Zopp said: “To be honest, I don’t know. I just started to win matches in the middle of July. From February to April I was injured and it took me some time to get used to the competition again. Then I started to play at some lower tournaments. At the Futures in Estonia and Finland I kind of expected to reach at least the final. To win the title in Alphen was a big surprise but when you start to win matches, you start to believe in yourself. I have always been working hard, so it’s nice to get some results.”
Does he already think about clinching another title here in Poland? “No, it is stil too early in the tournament. I am just thinking about the next round,” he told with a smile.
Next up for Zopp will be Dustin Brown. The 32-year-old German battled past Ukrainian qualifier Artem Smirnov in front of a packed Court 1, winning 7-6, 4-6, 7-6. Brown won nine points less than his opponent but was wide awake in the tie-breaks of the first and third set to prevail after two hours and 17 minutes.
“Dustin has a tricky game and he is a very experienced player,” Zopp told but is looking to extend his winning streak to 15 matches. “We practiced a few times together and played against each other many years ago at Futures level. Of course, I have seen him playing a lot of times, everybody knows Dustin.”
Top seed Gasquet Untroubled
Richard Gasquet
Later in the evening, top seed and the superstar of the tournament, Richard Gasquet, made his second appearance on Centre Court. The World No. 30, who has returned to the ATP Challenger Tour for the first time since 2010, had no problems to defeat Spanish #NextGenATP player Bernabé Zapata-Miralles 6-3, 6-2.
Gasquet won 79 per cent of his first service games and broke his opponent six times to finish the encounter in 68 minutes.
“I am happy with my performance today,” Gasquet was pleased afterwards. Asked about the low temperatures of about 12 degrees Celsius, he said:
“Conditions are okay for me. When you play at Wimbledon in the evening, it can be pretty similar.” The 31-year-old Frenchman will next face Guido Andreozzi. The 26-year-old from Argentina edged past Inigo Cervantes of Spain 6-3, 6-3. The encounter lasted one hour and 26 minutes.
