Dominic Thiem booked a spot in his first ATP World Tour final of the season by dominating Gael Monfils 6-2, 6-1 at the Argentina Open on Saturday.

The Austrian, who won the event in 2016, has never lost a match in Buenos Aires (8-0). Thiem also moved to 4-0 in his FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry against the Frenchman. The pair was also set to play in the semi-finals of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open earlier this season before Thiem withdrew due to illness.

The World No. 6 was ruthless throughout the 62-minute match, converting on four of nine break points while not facing a break point on his own serve.

Thiem will face Aljaz Bedene, who downed Federico Delbonis 6-4, 2-6, 6-1 to level their FedEx ATP Head2Head series at 1-1. The victory dashed home fans’ hopes of an Argentine champion.

“I played really well in the first set but I dropped a little bit in the second,” Bedene said. “He played really well in that second set; all credit to him. I’m happy I managed to come through in the third. I’m serving pretty well. Not everything depends on my serve, but it helps.”

The Slovenian will be playing in his third tour-level final (2015 Chennai, 2017 Budapest) and seek his first ATP World Tour title when he meets Thiem on Sunday. Bedene also upset No.5 seed Diego Schwartzman, 6-4, 6-4 in the quarter-finals.

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After splitting the first two sets with Delbonis, Bedene broke the Argentine’s serve in the third to take a 2-1 lead. The World No.51 never looked back, winning the next four games to seal the match in one hour, 55 minutes.

“I just want to do my best tomorrow and see what happens.”

Did You Know?
Thiem can make it four straight years with a tour-level title on Sunday against Bedene.

It was the perfect storyline. Kei Nishikori, who entered the inaugural New York Open without having played a tour-level match since last August due to a wrist injury, was on the verge of making his first ATP World Tour final since 2017 Buenos Aires. 

But top seed Kevin Anderson had something to say about that on Saturday evening, winning six of the final seven points in their semi-final to end Nishikori’s run 6-1, 3-6, 7-6(4). The South African guaranteed his return to the Top 10 of the ATP Rankings as he pursues his first ATP World Tour title since 2015 Winston-Salem. 

“It feels great,” Anderson said. “I didn’t even know that going into it. I know I’ve been close for the last few months. Obviously it’s a great accomplishment being in the Top 10. I was there for just a week a couple years ago and I had a few challenges to face. But I’ve worked really, really hard to get back to this spot.”

It is the 31-year-old’s fourth tour-level final since last August (0-3). Anderson most recently fell in the final of the Tata Open Maharashtra in Pune against Gilles Simon to open his 2018 ATP World Tour campaign.

Nishikori appeared to have the momentum in the third set, and a 5-1 lead in the pair’s FedEx ATP Head2Head series perhaps gave the 28-year-old the edge. But the big-serving Anderson snuffed out a break point at 3-3 with a booming ace and was the steadier player in the decisive tie-break to close out the match.

“I thought I got off to a great start,” Anderson said. “It got really close in the third set. No breaks of serve. I had to fight off one or two close serve games, but put myself in a good spot in a third-set tie-break… I’m really, really pleased to get through today.”

It was still an impressive week for Nishikori, who won the Memphis Open four straight times (2013-2016) before the tournament moved to Long Island this year. Anderson will face a familiar foe in the final.

Second seed Sam Querrey entered Saturday’s semi-finals without a FedEx ATP Head2Head series victory against Adrian Mannarino in three tries.

But Querrey turned around a streak of five consecutive sets lost against the Frenchman to eliminate the left-hander 6-7(5), 7-5, 6-3, moving into his first final since winning the Abierto Mexicano de Tenis Mifel presentado por Cinemex last August.

“It feels like I beat Rafa[el Nadal] out there. That guy’s always been so tricky. I know it’s my first time beating him and it feels good. I’m so happy to get through that and be in the final. I’m really excited.”

Querrey hit 21 aces to advance to his 18th ATP World Tour final (10-7). He has won his last three championship matches (2016 Delray Beach, 2017 Acapulco, 2017 Los Cabos).

At World No. 25, Mannarino remains the current highest-ranked player without an ATP World Tour title.

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“I think that he was playing well from the middle of the second set,” Mannarino said. “He took his chances in the best moments, so he deserved that win.”

Querrey leads Anderson 8-7 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series, but the South African has triumphed three of their past four meetings. The American won their only previous match on an indoor hard court, winning their second-round battle at 2012 Memphis.

Did You Know?
Kevin Anderson guaranteed his return to the Top 10 of the ATP Rankings for the first time since the week of 12 October 2015. If he beats Querrey on Sunday, the South African will achieve a career-best No. 9.

Roger Federer reached his third ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament final on Saturday after beating Andreas Seppi 6-3, 7-6(3).

The two-time Rotterdam champion moved into the championship match after one hour, 24 minutes and will aim to become the first player in the tournament’s history to win the event on three occasions on Sunday. Federer guaranteed with his quarter-final victory against Robin Haase that he will become the oldest World No. 1 in the history of the ATP Rankings on Monday.

“I wasn’t sure if I was going to get out of this one today,” admitted Federer. “It was tough, maybe my best match of the tournament… I am very excited to be in the final here in Rotterdam.”

If Federer goes on to win the title, it will be the 15th year in the 36-year-old’s career that he has won multiple tour-level titles. The right-hander is pursuing trophy No. 97.

The Swiss superstar will meet World No. 5 Grigor Dimitrov for the title after fourth seed David Goffin retired from his semi-final against the Bulgarian with an eye injury while trailing 3-6, 1-0. Federer has won all six previous FedEx ATP Head2Head meetings with Dimitrov. If the top seed goes on to win, it will be the 30th time that he defeated a Top 5 opponent in the final to earn a tour-level title.

“He is in great form,” Federer said of Dimitrov. “He had a wonderful season last year. He started solid again this year, so I think he is fresh, ready and eager to go. I enjoy playing against Grigor… I am going to have to try to play aggressive, to play my game and then hope for the best.”

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Did You Know?
Federer has won four of his six FedEx ATP Head2Head meetings against Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets.

Grigor Dimitrov has reached his first ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament final, in unfortunate circumstances, after David Goffin was forced to retire with a serious eye injury on Saturday.

The World No. 5, who was serving at 6-3, 0-1 when the incident occurred, hit a forehand passing shot which hit the frame of Goffin’s racquet and deflected the ball into his left eye. The incident is the second freak accident Goffin has fallen victim to in eight months after the 27-year-old injured his right ankle at Roland Garros last year after getting it caught in a tarpaulin cover.

Dimitrov moves into Sunday’s final where he will meet the winner of tonight’s second semi-final, as top seed Roger Federer takes on Italy’s Andreas Seppi.

Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic reached their fourth final of the 2018 ATP World Tour season at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament after beating Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau 6-1, 6-3 on Saturday.

The second seeds continued their impressive unbeaten streak in 2018, which now stands at 18 matches, to beat their opponents in just 55 minutes. The duo won 82 per cent of points on serve and broke the 2015 champions on four occasions to move just one win away from a fourth title in 2018 after earlier title runs in Doha, Auckland and the Australian Open.

The Austrian-Croatian team awaits the winner of Saturday’s evening semi-final where Ivan Dodig and Rajeev Ram meet third seeds Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut.

Did You Know?
Marach and Pavic’s last defeat came at the Rolex Shanghai Masters in October 2017 to today’s opponents Rojer and Tecau. The duo has since won 25 consecutive matches with a title run in Stockholm, two victories in Vienna (before withdrawing in the semi-finals), one win as an alternate at the Nitto ATP Finals and 18 triumphs this season.