The 32nd annual Nordic Naturals Challenger will have a new champion this year after defending champ Thanasi Kokkinakis was dethroned on Wednesday.
Egor Gerasimov of Belarus, the No. 6 seed, defeated Kokkinakis of Australia, 7-6, 6-4, in the Round of 32 at Seascape Sports Club.
Kokkinakis, ranked No. 171 in the ATP World rankings, came into the tourney unseeded.
No. 1 seed Damir Dzumhur, a member of the Bosnia and Herzegovina Davis Cup team, defeated American qualifier Keegan Smith, 6-4, 6-4.
American Steve Johnson, the No. 2 seed and ranked No. 93 in the ATP World rankings, got past Ecuadorian Roberto Quiroz, 6-1, 6-2.
Other notable wins include 23-year-old Ernesto Escobedo out of Los Angeles eliminating No. 11 seed and fellow American Mitchell Krueger, 6-4, 6-7 (6), 6-2.
Lukas Lacko, a 31-year-old of Slovakia, edged American Christopher Eubanks, the No. 13 seed, 7-6 (1), 7-6 (5).
Great Britain’s Liam Broady, a 2017 Nordic Naturals finalist, eliminated No. 14 seed Ramkumar Ramanathan of India, 7-6, 6-4, while Ecuadorian Emilio Gomez, the No. 12 seed, slipped past Akira Santillan, a Japanese-born Australian, 7-6, 7-5.
In doubles action, No. 4 seed Jamie Cerretani of the United States and Jonathan Erlich of Israel defeated Americans Maxime Cressy and Keegan Smith, 6-3, 6-1, in the Round of 16.
No. 1 seed Marcelo Arevalo of El Salvador and Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela of Mexico are moving on to the semifinals after getting past Andre Goransson of Sweden and American Hunter Reese, 7-6 (4), 6-3.
The action continues today at 10 a.m. beginning with No. 3 seed Taro Daniel of Japan taking American Michael Redlicki at Center Court.
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Wednesday’s results
Singles; Round of 32
No. 1 Damir Dzumhur def. Keegan Smith, 6-4, 6-4
No. 2 Steve Johnson d. Roberto Quiroz, 6-1, 6-2
No. 5 Bjorn Fratangelo def. Jannik Sinner, 7-6 (6), 6-3
No. 6 Egor Gerasimov def. Thanasi Kokkinakis, 7-6, 6-4
Ernesto Escobedo def. No. 11 Mitchell Krueger, 6-4, 6-7, 6-2
No. 12 Emilio Gomez def. Akira Santillan, 7-6, 7-5
Lukas Lacko def. No. 13 Christopher Eubanks, 7-6, 7-6
Liam Broady def. No. 14 Ramkumar Ramanathan, 7-6, 6-4
Doubles
Quarterfinals
No. 1 Marcelo Arevalo/Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela def. Andre Goransson/Hunter Reese, 7-6 (4), 6-3
Evan Hoyt/Bernardo Saraiva def. Egor Gerasimov/Zhe Li, 6-3, 4-6, 11-9
Round of 16
Ruben Bemelmans/Robert Lindstedt d. Alejandro Gomez/Junior A. Ore, 6-7, 6-3, 10-7
Nathaniel Lammons/Alex Lawson d. JC Aragone/Brandon Holt, 6-4, 6-7, 10-7
No. 4 Jamie Cerretani/Jonathan Erlich def. Maxime Cressy/Keegan Smith, 6-3, 6-1
