ATP Dubai: Stefanos Tsitsipas, Borna Coric and Gael Monfils reach semis
The world no. 11 Stefanos Tsitsipas is a win away from entering the top-100 following a hard-fought 7-6, 6-7, 6-1 triumph over another youngster Hubert Hurkacz in two hours and 19 minutes. Stefanos and Hubert played for the third time and the Greek grabbed the third victory, beating the Pole in Marseille last week and having to dig deep today to repeat that and move into the semi-final on Dubai debut. Stefanos hit only two aces and he struggled a little bit on the second serve, facing nine break points and saving seven to limit the damage in his games and keep the pressure on Hubert who was ready to deal with it after his first top-10 win over Kei Nishikori yesterday.
The Pole was able to match Tsitsipas' pace in the opening two sets, pulling the break back at 4-5 in the second set to prolong the match in the very last moment, taking it in the tie break before losing ground in the decider to send Stefanos into the semis. They traded breaks in games three and four and the rest of the opening set gave no opportunities for the returners, entering a tie break that Tsitsipas won 7-4 with two mini-breaks. Hubert sprayed a forehand error in the third game of the second set to send the better-ranked rival closer to the finish line, with Stefanos fending off two break points in game eight with service winners.
Serving for the match, the Greek suffered a break in game ten and Hurkacz claimed the breaker 7-1 with a volley winner to send this thrilling battle into a decider. Tsitsipas bounced back at the beginning of the final set, breaking in game three when Hurkacz netted a forehand and moving 4-0 up after another error from the Pole who had to lay down his weapons. Serving for the win at 5-1, Stefanos forced a mistake from his opponent to claim the 14th win in 2019 and move on the verge of the top-10. An in-form Gael Monfils has won 11 of the last 12 matches, beating a qualifier Ricardas Berankis 6-1, 6-7, 6-2 in an hour and 55 minutes in what was their first clash in five years.
Gael lost serve three times but despite losing that second set his win was never in doubt, dropping just three games in sets one and three to march into the last four in the third straight tournament for the first time in a career! Berankis had an early lead in the decider after a break in game three but he missed a terrible smash in the following game to lose serve and all the momentum, allowing Monfils to win all the remaining games and ending his journey in the quarters. Just like four years ago, Borna Coric will face Roger Federer in Dubai semi-final after a 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 win over Nikoloz Basilashvili in two hours and 27 minutes, finishing the job at 1 am after a few rain delays!
The Croat toppled the Georgian for the third time in a row although he had to work hard for it, saving nine out of 12 break points and hitting 29 winners and 30 unforced errors. Playing against seven break points, Nikoloz suffered four breaks and he squandered the opportunity for another great result at ATP 500 events, wasting a break point at 4-4 in the deciding set and bowing out after a poor performance in the tie break. Basilashvili lost just nine points on serve in the opening set, breaking Coric in the third game thanks to a forehand error from the Croat and securing the set with a hold at 15 in game ten after an ace.
Borna raised his level in set number two, breaking the rival three times and building the momentum before the deciding set with a break in game eight that pushed him 6-2 up and turned into a favorite. Leading 4-1 in the final set, Borna wasted the advantage when Nikoloz broke back in game seven, creating another chance next time he returned but not being able to deliver the crucial punch. Coric won the tie break 7-1 when his rival netted a backhand to book the place in the semi-final against the seven-time Dubai champion Federer whom he beat last year in the final of another ATP 500 event in Halle.
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2UdbD7J
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