On another sun-kissed day in Geneva, hometown player Johan Nikles dug deep to win an all-Swiss clash with young compatriot Leandro Riedi 5-7 7-6(3) 7-5. The tournament’s local favourite saved no fewer than six match points en route to victory, with Riedi failing to hold his nerve on the big points and ultimately being undone by a high error count. Cheered on by the crowd, the 25-year-old Nikles clung on to record his maiden ATP 250 tournament win. His reward is a meeting this afternoon with the Netherlands’ Tallon Griekspoor on a Court Central that will no doubt be hoping for the Swiss to chalk up another landmark victory.
In the night session, Richard Gasquet saw off No. 1 seed Daniil Medvedev 6-2 7-6(5). Newly returned from injured and well below his best in the opening set, the reigning US Open champion recovered in the second only to cough up a double fault at match point in the tie-break to gift his opponent victory. Gasquet, who has yet to drop a set at the tournament, will now face Poland’s Kamil Majchrzak – a straight-sets winner over Marco Cecchinato – on Thursday.
Earlier in the day, Australian duo Thanasi Kokkinakis and Christopher O’Connell respectively ended the hopes of outsiders Fabio Fognini and Albert Ramos-Vinolas, running out 6-4 6-3 and 7-6(5) 6-4 winners.
Homeboy Nikles hangs tough to fans’ delight
