Gaston Upsets Garin In Gstaad
Frenchman Hugo Gaston saved four match points on Friday at the Swiss Open Gstaad to upset fourth-seeded Chilean Cristian Garin 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(11) to reach his first ATP Tour semi-final.
The 20-year-old twice fought back from a break down in the final set before he saved four match points at 5/6, 7/8, 9/10, and 10/11 in a mammoth tie-break to advance in two hours and 20 minutes. He has now claimed 17 clay-court wins at all levels this season, having reached ATP Challenger Tour finals at the Concord Iasi Open and the Roma Garden Open I.
[WATCH LIVE 1]“I am very happy to be in my first [ATP Tour] semi-final,” Gaston said. “It was a great fight. It was a really long match. I always tried to play my game, and it is a good win for me. I hope I can continue like that.”
Gaston won 75 per cent (36/48) of his first-service points and used the drop shot to great effect throughout to set up a meeting with either seventh seed Laslo Djere or countryman Arthur Rinderknech.
The World No. 155, who was competing in his first tour-level quarter-final on Friday, becomes the youngest Gstaad semi-finalist since 2006, when a then 17-year-old Marin Cilic enjoyed a run to the last four.