Cameron Norrie ended a three-match losing run with victory over Kaichi Uchida in the opening round of the Korea Open.
The British number one was disappointing in Davis Cup defeats by Dutchman Botic Van De Zandschulp and Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik and then lost a close match to Taylor Fritz at the Laver Cup last weekend.
But he took advantage of a kind draw in Seoul with a 6-2 6-2 victory over Japanese wild card Uchida, ranked 163.
Norrie, who as the second seed had a first-round bye, served eight aces and did not face a break point as he set up a quarter-final against American Jenson Brooksby.
“It feels great,” said Norrie. “I was a bit jet-lagged, so it was nice to get up early and get it done in straight sets.
“I felt the conditions suited me well, it was pretty hot and I like that. It was a tough match but I was able to win some close games and get a couple of breaks each set so it was a good day for me overall.”
At the Tel Aviv Open in Israel, Liam Broady claimed one of the best victories of his career over fifth seed Van De Zandschulp to reach an ATP Tour quarter-final for just the second time.
Broady, who came through qualifying, overcame a rankings gap of more than 100 places to defeat the world number 35 6-4 4-6 6-3.
It is Broady’s fourth win over a top-50 player and should be enough to see him climb back into the top 150 irrespective of how he fares against second seed Marin Cilic in the last eight.
The 28-year-old’s only previous run to this stage at tour level came in St Petersburg in 2017.
