ATP Cordoba: Diego Schwartzman and Cristian Garin seek first clay title in 2020

The top seed Diego Schwartzman will play for the first clay title in 2020 against Cristian Garin on Sunday in Cordoba, with both players scoring semi-final victories in three sets. World no. 14 Diego Schwartzman is through to his eighth ATP final, defeating Laslo Djere 6-1, 1-6, 6-2 in an hour and 57 minutes after a strong performance in the decider. Laslo had better percentages on the first serve and it was the second that let him down, taking only nine out of 30 points and getting broken five times from 12 chances offered to the Argentine. On the other hand, Diego delivered equally good numbers on both the first and second serve, repelling nine out of 12 break points to limit the damage in his games and secure the place in the final. Schwartzman sprayed a backhand error in the first game to suffer a break and make the worst possible start, bouncing back and dominating in the rest of the set to take it 6-1.

He broke Djere in game two following a double fault from the Serb, fending off break chances in the next game and earning another break that sent him 3-1 in front. A service winner sent the Frenchman 4-1 up, delivering another break at 15 a few minutes later and closing the set in the seventh game following another baseline error from Laslo. The Serb repelled break chances at the beginning of the second set and grabbed a break in game two with a forehand winner that gave him momentum, racing into a 4-0 lead and wasting a set point on the return at 5-0, missing the opportunity for a bagel. Still, Djere sealed the set with a backhand winner in game seven, looking good ahead of the decider against the better-ranked opponent. With no room for errors, Schwartzman erased break chances in the first game of the third set, stealing the rival's serve already in game two and moving over the top with another break in game eight when Laslo sent a forehand long.

Cristian Garin asked for a wild card as he didn't sign in time, making the best possible decision as he has reached the fourth ATP final thanks to a 2-6, 6-2, 6-2 triumph over Andrej Martin in an hour and 57 minutes. Cristian won five points more than Andrej, with similar percentages on serve and eight break chances up for grabs for both players. The Chilean converted four and suffered two breaks, taking control after the opener to leave the rival behind and stay on the title course. Martin was off to a powerful start, serving well in the opener and breaking Garin twice for a 6-2.

The youngster netted a forehand in the sixth game to fall 4-2 behind, spraying more mistakes from his forehand at 2-5 to hand the set to his opponent. Martin sent a backhand wide at the beginning of the second set to lose serve, finding himself 3-0 down after a loose volley in the third game. Garin wrapped up the set with a forehand winner in the eighth game, standing as the favorite in the decider now. There, he broke in the first game and extended the lead with another one at 3-1, sealing the deal in the eighth game to set the title clash against Schwartzman. 

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2SfqPmp