Two months into his comeback from a one-year suspension, Viktor Troicki is already up to No. 174 in the world. He is now surging toward the top 150 after upsetting David Ferrer 6-3, 6-4 in the second round of the Shenzhen Open on Thursday.
Following in the footsteps of Marin Cilic, who recovered from a four-month suspension late in 2013 to win this summer’s U.S. Open, Troicki’s return to tennis had already featured two titles, two additional quarterfinals, and a semifinal on the Challenger circuit. The Serb’s only previous ATP-level appearance had also resulted in a quarterfinal in Gstaad.
“I don’t want to stop here,” said Troicki, who overpowered Ferrer by firing 13 aces and holding all 10 of his service games, saving the only two break points he faced in the process. “I think I’m playing good. I’ll go match by match and try to enjoy it as much as I can. David is a great fighter; a great player. It’s amazing to beat him. It’s special for me.”
Next up for the Serb is Santiago Giraldo, who took care of qualifier Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-3, 6-4. Andy Murray and Lukas Lacko also advanced on Thursday to set up a quarterfinal date. Murray rolled over Somdev Devvarman 6-3, 6-3 and Lacko ousted Ricardas Berankis 6-4, 7-6(1).
At the Malaysian Open, meanwhile, second-seeded Ernests Gulbis kicked off his campaign with a 6-3, 6-7(3), 6-1 defeat of qualifier Philipp Petzschner on Thursday. Gulbis gave away a break lead in the second set, but he dominated the third without facing a single break point. The Latvian is now headed to the last eight to face Benjamin Becker, a 6-4, 7-6(4) winner over Pierre-Hugues Herbert.
Joining Gulbis and Becker in the quarterfinals are Pablo Andujar and Jarkko Nieminen. Andujar, the No. 7 seed in Kuala Lumpur, downed Michal Przysiezny 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-3. Nieminen upset third seed Leonardo Mayer 7-6(5), 6-4.
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