Fritz beats pal Tommy Paul on birthday in St. Petersburg

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) — Taylor Fritz has celebrated his 24th birthday by beating doubles partner Tommy Paul 7-6 (3), 6-4 and advancing to the quarterfinals of the St. Petersburg Open. It was bittersweet because the Americans are good friends. Fritz will next face Australian John Millman who advanced by upsetting fourth-seeded Aslan Karatsev of Russia 6-3, 6-2. Dutch qualifier Botic van de Zandschulp set up a quarterfinal match against home favorite and defending champion Andrey Rublev after beating eighth-seeded Sebastian Korda of the United States 6-2, 7-5. Croatia’s Marin Cilic and Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut also won and will meet in the quarterfinals.