Atlanta Open: Marcos Baghdatis knocks Sam Groth

Sam Groth has been knocked out of the Atlanta Open in a 7-5 3-6 6-3 second-round loss to Marcos Baghdatis.

Battling high temperatures at the hardcourt tournament on Wednesday, the Australian produced a sizzling serve clocking 240km/hr but succumbed to the Cypriot in their first career meeting.

Groth is in for a well-deserved break, as just this month, he’s bounced between Wimbledon, Darwin, Bogota and Atlanta as he aims to further build on his best year yet in which he’s risen to No. 62 in the world rankings.

Baghdatis will face Vasek Pospisil in the quarter-finals after he overcame cramps to outlast Yen-Hsun Lu.

Pospisil, the No. 2 seed from Canada, beat Taiwan’s Lu 6-4 6-7 (3-7) 6-4. The match ended on Lu’s second double-fault of the match.

The temperature was 35C and Pospisil looked unsteady on his feet after losing the second-set tie-breaker. Cramping in his legs caused him to fall to the court in the third set, but he continued without a delay.

Top seed and two-time defending champion John Isner will play Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic on Thursday.