Goffin Remains On Course In Antwerp
Goffin Remains On Course In Antwerp
Gasquet moves into SFs
Top seed David Goffin, who is currently No. 10 in the Emirates ATP Race To London and in contention for one of the three remaining spots at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, overcame a challenge from qualifier Marius Copil to prevail 5-7, 6-1, 6-3 in the quarter-finals of the European Open on Friday. Copil fought hard until the end, saving five match points before Goffin served out the match.
“He served some bombs,” Goffin said. “I really needed to find my footwork and my returns. I tried to make him go for some wrong shots, go for winners from tough positions.”
Goffin will play Diego Schwartzman, who beat fourth seed Pablo Cuevas, a winner of two ATP World Tour titles this year, 7-6(8), 6-3.
“It will be a tough match tomorrow. He’s a small guy like me, who likes to play on the baseline,” Goffin said of Schwartzman. “There will be a lot of rallies. It could be a very interesting match.”
Third seed Richard Gasquet remains on course to reach his third ATP World Tour final of the season after he beat Jan-Lennard Struff 6-2, 6-4 in 75 minutes. The Frenchman is trying to finish in the Top 20 of the Emirates ATP Rankings for a fifth time in six years (except 2014) and eighth time overall (2005-07). He will meet #NextGen star Kyle Edmund, who comes into the match on a high, having topped Andreas Seppi 6-3, 6-4 to reach his first ATP World Tour semi-final.
”It was a tough match for me against a good player, who won a Challenger a few weeks ago,” said Gasquet. “I knew how dangerous he was, having watched him win against Gilles [Simon] this week. I am very happy with the way I played, particularly in the second set, when he broke me at 4-2. It’s a good victory for me. It’s a great tournament and I hope to reach the final.”
Edmund, who is enjoying a career year, improved to 1-3 in quarter-final appearances at ATP World Tour events this year. He twice fell to Andy Murray (Queen’s, Beijing) and lost to Tomas Berdych in Doha.
Nestor/Roger-Vasselin Advance In Doubles
Daniel Nestor and Edouard Roger-Vasselin rebounded to beat Oliver Marach and Fabrice Martin 6-7(5), 6-4, 10-8 in the doubles semi-finals. It was a setback for Marach/Martin, who are 11th in the Emirates ATP Doubles Race To London. They will lose grounds on No. 10 Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah, who are into the Moscow final.