Sam Groth sailed through to the quarterfinals of the $100,000 Nordic Naturals Challenger presented by Santa Cruz County Bank after defeating Jason Jung in the second round on Wednesday at the Seascape Sports Club in Aptos.
The 29-year-old from Australia held true to his reputation as the fastest server in the world — recorded at 163.7 miles per hour — notching 18 total aces in the 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 victory over Jung, of Chinese Taipei.
No. 6 seed, Tennys Sandgren, defeated 22-year-old Mackenzie McDonald in two short sets (6-1, 6-2) and former top 100 player, Taylor Fritz, pulled a three-set (2-6, 6-1, 6-2) victory against fellow American and qualifier Austin Krajicek.
With an ace to win the match, Fritz, a 19-year-old from Southern California, surprised everyone with his effortless power and solid strokes throughout the match. Both players painted the lines with solid and controlled shots but it was Fritz who remained the more consistent of the two when it mattered most.
Unseeded Aussie, Akira Santillan, also punched his ticket to the quarterfinals with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Darian King, of Barbados.
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COMPLETE DAY 3 SINGLES RESULTS
[6] T. Sandgren def. [WC] M. McDonald >> 6-1, 6-2
[WC] T. Fritz def. [Q] A. Krajicek >> 2-6, 6-1, 6-2
S. Groth def. J. Jung >> 4-6, 6-3, 6-0
A. Santillan def. D. King >> 6-3, 6-4
DAY 4 ORDER OF PLAY
CENTER COURT start 11:00 am
[Q] J. Jung/D. King vs [3] J. Erlich/N. Skupski
Not Before 12:00 noon
[5] M. Kukushkin vs [WC] D. Novikov
A. Bublik vs [3] H. Laaksonen
Not Before 6:00 pm
R. Sarmiento vs Q. Halys
COURT 5 start 12:00 noon
[Q] L. Broady vs [Alt] J. De Loore
[4] A. Bolt/J. Thompson vs S. De Waard/B. Mclachlan
Not Before 4:00 pm
May Be Moved to Center Court – [1] W. Koolhof/A. Sitak vs A. Krajicek/J. Withrow
Not Before 5:00 pm
R. Roelofse/C. Rungkat vs [LL] R. Bemelmans/J. De Loore
