Valentin Vacherot vs Alexander Blockx — R32 — Japan Open

Eighth seed Valentin Vacherot won both tiebreaks against Alexander Blockx to reach the Japan Open round of 16. Vacherot was ATP No. 19 and Blockx was No. 27, but the betting market had the Belgian as a slight favorite. Blockx, 21, started the season at ATP No. 115. This was his first match since his quarterfinal run at the US Open. Vacherot came to Tokyo with an 11-11 record on hard courts this season. Vacherot broke first in both sets. He broke in game 6 for 4-2 in the first set and in game 3 for 2-1 in the second. Both times, Blockx broke back in the next game. Each player held 10 of 12 service games, so both sets went to tiebreaks. Vacherot won them 7-2 and 7-4. Most of Blockx's chances came in the second set. He had six of his nine break points there and converted one. Over the whole match, Vacherot saved seven of the nine break points he faced. The two-hour match gave Vacherot his first win since the US Open's second round, four weeks earlier.