ATP Tennis: Nadal still strong, Anderson stumbles, and Djokovic in the news

In Beijing, Nadal saved all six break points he faced against the Russian and broke him back thrice to win the match. The number one seed did not allow Khachanov to play his game and should be happy with his 6-3, 6-3 victory, which moves him to the quarterfinals where he’ll play, the big man, Isner. Isner came through with a relatively easier 6-0, 6-3 win over Leonardo Mayer. Mayer never stood a chance in the match and was dismissed quite easily. However, Isner now faces the daunting task of adding some semblance of respectability to the H2H record of 6-0 between him and Nadal.

Ryan Harrison overcomes Kevin Anderson

In Tokyo Ryan Harrison turned the tide and beat the US Open finalist 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 to reach the quarterfinals. Kevin Anderson’s 24 aces were just not enough to do the job as Ryan was more focused of the two in the third set tie-break. Ryan’s reward will be a meeting with Marin Cilic who beat Yasutaka Uchiyama 6-3, 6-4 in 73 minutes.

Djokovic update

Elsewhere, in the life of Novak Djokovic, Pepe Imaz has resurfaced to claim his positive effect on Djokovic’s career specially during his astounding run from 2012 to 2016. So Pepe was really not the monster made out to be by the monstrous media and fans. We all wish Novak a happy journey with Pepe and Agassi.