Kovacevic was virtually untouchable when his first serve found the box, winning 25 of 26 points. He successfully converted a break in each set, both instances coming via an unforced error off the Australian’s racquet.
“Obviously a tough one to approach. You don’t always know what you’re going to get with Nick, whether he’s healthy or he’s not,” Kovacevic said during his on-court interview. “Tough to scout him recently, because he hasn’t been on tour for a while playing serious matches. I just knew I had to be pretty locked in.
“I do like playing in big stadiums like this.”
Kovacevic comes in ranked a career-high No. 58 this week. For a quarterfinal berth, he gets the winner of a left-handed showdown between seventh seed Cameron Norrie and Ugo Humbert.
