After his exertions in Cincinnati, when he knocked out world No.7 Casper Ruud and pushed world No.1 Carlos Alcaraz deep into a 3rd set, Max Purcell may have been forgiven discovering motivation a difficulty as he kicked off his run on the Winston-Salem Open towards world No.109 Marco Cecchinato.
But the Sydneysider made a quick begin towards the Italian in North Carolina, breaking him within the opening recreation to safe a bonus he by no means let slip. He then raced into 4-0 second set lead earlier than progressing 6-4 6-1 in 68 minutes.
In the second spherical Purcell, now a career-best forty seventh on the earth, faces Emil Ruusuvuori, who was overwhelmed by Alexei Popyrin within the final 16 in Cincinnati final week.
The 56th-ranked Finn knocked Purcell out of the Australian Open earlier this 12 months and gained their solely different match, a qualifier three years in the past.
However, Purcell is within the type of his life successful 9 of his final 11 matches, overwhelmed solely by Alcaraz and, in Toronto, Andy Murray.
Fellow Australian Rinky Hijikata was subsequent on courtroom 2 after Purcell on Monday, enjoying Ukraine’s Illya Marchenko.
Briton’s Jack Draper marked his return to the ATP Tour after a shoulder harm with a 6-3 6-1 victory over Portugal’s Nuno Borges,
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
