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Patna : World No 19 John Isner, 34, USA, World No 16 Andrey Rublev, 22, Russia, and World No 51 Fernando Verdasco, 36, Spain, entered the third round of Australian Open (AO) at Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, on January 23, 2020.
World No 51 Fernando Verdasco, who had reached AO semi-finals in 2009, upset World No 29 Nikoloz Basilashvili, 27, Georgia, in four-sets 4-6, 7-6, 6-4, 6-4 battling back from one set down on Court No 13 in second round. Verdasco fired 13 Aces in the match to 4 by 26th seed Basilashvili.
The Georgian committed 8 double faults to 3 by the Spaniard. Verdasco won 4 break points in the match to 3 by the Georgian. Both the players won 3 games each in a row in the match. The Spaniard, twice quarter-finalist at US Open and once at Wimbledon, won 90 service points to 89 by the Georgian. Verdasco, who has won 7 career titles, will face World No 7 Alexander Zverev, Germany, in third round on January 25, 2020.
John Isner, the 19th seed, beat Qualifier and World No 208 Alejandro Tabilo, 22, Chile, in straight sets 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 winning 4 break points on Court No 22 to enter the third round. Isner hammered 32 Aces in the match to 7 by Tabilo. Isner also won 5 games in a row in the match. The American won 58 service points to 52 by Tabilo.
Andrey Rublev, the 17th seed, beat World No 91 Yuichi Sugita, 31, Japan, in straight sets 6-2, 6-3, 7-6 to enter the third round. Rublev, who has won two ATP titles in 2020, hammered 21 Aces in gthe match to 3 by Sugita. The Russian also won four break points in the match besides winning 5 games in a row. Sugita though won 70 service points to 62 by Rublev.