European Open: Dan Evans beats Karen Khachanov to reach semi-finals
Britain’s Dan Evans beats third seed Karen Khachanov 3-6 7-6 (9-7) 6-4 to reach the semi-finals of the European Open in Antwerp.
Britain’s Dan Evans beats third seed Karen Khachanov 3-6 7-6 (9-7) 6-4 to reach the semi-finals of the European Open in Antwerp.
Daniel Evans produced an impressive comeback to earn his spot in the European Open semi-finals on Friday. The British No. 1 saved match point to beat third seed Karen Khachanov 3-6, 7-6(7), 6-4 in Antwerp.
Evans served with power and precision in the second-set tie-break to escape danger at 5/6 and force a third set, before capitalising on a series of errors to establish an early lead in the decider. Evans dropped just two points behind his first serve in the final set (14/16) and moved up the court well to finish the match in two hours and 40 minutes.
Evans improves to 2-0 in his ATP Head2Head series against Khachanov. Earlier this year, the 30-year-old claimed another three-set comeback win against the Russian at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam.
[WATCH LIVE 1]The Brit has performed well against the biggest stars on the ATP Tour this year, compiling a 7-6 record against Top 20 opposition in 2020. Alongside two wins against Khachanov, Evans has also claimed two victories against Andrey Rublev and beaten David Goffin, Fabio Fognini and Alex de Minaur.
“It is nice to play these guys and it is why you play the sport, to play the better players” said Evans. “I am pretty clear on how I have to play to beat them and that is what I do. I try and execute that plan and I have done that pretty good against the better guys.”
Evans will face Ugo Humbert for a spot in the championship match. The Frenchman advanced to his third semi-final of the season with a 6-3, 7-6(2) win against Lloyd Harris of South Africa. Humbert, who captured his maiden ATP Tour trophy at the ASB Classic in January, won 83 per cent of first-serve points (29/35) to advance in one hour and 35 minutes.
Alex de Minaur converted four of five break points to beat Marcos Giron 6-3, 6-0 in 58 minutes. The 21-year-old, who came within two points of defeat in his opening match against Richard Gasquet, will face Grigor Dimitrov for a place in the final. The Bulgarian moved through to the semi-finals when Milos Raonic withdrew from the tournament with an abdominal strain.
Did You Know?
Evans is attempting to become the third consecutive British player to win the European Open. Kyle Edmund earned his first ATP Tour crown at the ATP 250 in 2018 and Andy Murray lifted his 46th tour-level title at the event last year.
Jannik Sinner recovered after losing eight straight games to work his way past former World No. 6 Gilles Simon on Friday afternoon at the bett1HULKS Championship.
The Italian wild card fought back from 0-2 down in the deciding set to win 6-3, 0-6, 6-4 over two hours and 33 minutes. He will next play top-seeded German Alexander Zverev or Adrian Mannarino of France in the Cologne semi-finals.
“He didn’t give me any angles and played down the middle. He was very solid and I tried to play more on his forehand,” said Sinner, in an on-court interview. “Losing eight games [in a row] can happen, but next time I need to find a solution earlier. He played far better than me in the second set. I got a little emotional in the third set, but I wanted to show that I wanted to win.”
Sinner regained the momentum by pushing Simon deep behind the baseline in the third game of the third set and decisively broke at 3-3. The 19-year-old saved three break points when serving for his 13th match win of 2020 and closed out with a crosscourt backhand volley.
[WATCH LIVE 2]Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies booked their place in the bett1HULKS Championship quarter-finals on Thursday with a 6-4, 7-5 victory against Alexander Zverev and Mischa Zverev.
In an all-German clash on Court 1, the third seeds broke serve on four occasions to reach the semi-finals in Cologne. Krawietz and Mies were making their first appearance since capturing their second straight Roland Garros crown earlier this month in Paris.
[WATCH LIVE 2]Krawietz and Mies will attempt to extend their seven-match winning streak when they face Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo or Marcus Daniell and Philipp Oswald in the semi-finals. Kubot and Melo moved past Jonathan Erlich and Hugo Nys 6-4, 6-2 to claim their first win of the tournament.
Australian Open finalists Max Purcell and Luke Saville saved one match point to upset second seeds Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic. The Aussies recovered from 8/9 down in a Match Tie-break to claim a 2-6, 6-3, 11-9 victory. Purcell and Saville will next face Raven Klaasen and Ben McLachlan, who defeated St. Petersburg Open champions Jurgen Melzer and Edouard Roger-Vasselin 7-5, 6-4.
Gille/Vliegen Reach Antwerp Semi-finals
Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen advanced to their second straight European Open semi-final on Thursday. The home favourites saved four of five break points to beat Daniel Evans and Cameron Norrie 7-5, 6-3 in 69 minutes. Chasing their first ATP Tour title of 2020, Gille and Vliegen will compete in their third semi-final of the year (0-2) when they face Rohan Bopanna and Matwe Middelkoop or Alex de Minaur and Matt Reid in their next match.
De Minaur and Reid saved one match point to reach the quarter-finals in Antwerp. The Aussies trailed by a set and a break and needed to save a match point at 8/9 in the Match Tie-break, before claiming three straight points and a place in the last eight.
Pablo Andujar and Sander Arends saved two of three break points to beat Michael Geerts and Yannick Mertens 6-4, 6-1 and reach the European Open semi-finals. The Spanish-Dutch tandem needed just 58 minutes to advance to the semi-finals on its team debut. Andujar and Arends will meet second seeds John Peers and Michael Venus for a place in the championship match.
Marcos Giron earned one of the biggest wins of his career on Thursday, upsetting top seed David Goffin 6-3, 7-5 to reach his first ATP Tour quarter-final at the European Open.
The American, who underwent right hip surgery in December 2015 and left hip surgery in February 2016, saved 10 of the 13 break points he faced to claim his first Top 20 victory against the World No. 14. Giron broke the Belgian’s serve five times to halt the home favourite’s chances of lifting a tour-level trophy on home soil.
“I didn’t know [about his surgeries], so after two hip surgeries it’s amazing how he’s moving and how strong he is with the legs, moving left and right,” Goffin said. “You couldn’t see that he had surgeries, so I think he had a good surgeon. Second of all he was moving well, he’s strong, you can see that his legs are really strong and he was really solid from the back. I’m happy to hear that he’s playing his best tennis after two tough surgeries.”
Goffin, the 2017 Nitto ATP Finals runner-up, is known for his baseline play, but he made some uncharacteristic errors sporadically during the match, allowing Giron to gain confidence. The Belgian battled from a break down to get back on serve twice in the second set, but he dug himself too many holes and eventually succumbed after one hour and 40 minutes.
“I was fighting the whole match and I think [there were] a lot of ups and downs,” Goffin said. “Sometimes [I played] some good games, sometimes I was playing well, sometimes [I was] aggressive. Sometimes in the game I was completely down with three unforced errors for no reason. It was like that the whole match, so if I… just erase some mistakes, it will be better and better match after match.”
[WATCH LIVE 1]Giron’s previous-best win by FedEx ATP Ranking came against then-World No. 24 Alex de Minaur at the 2019 BNP Paribas Open. Fittingly, the American will try to upset the Aussie again in the Antwerp quarter-finals.
Did You Know?
Giron cracked the world’s Top 100 for the first time on 31 August, just a month after turning 27.
The former world number one and six-time Grand Slam champion denies all the charges against him.
Diego Schwartzman had no problems in his first match as a Top 10 player, easing past Oscar Otte 6-3, 6-2 on Thursday to reach the quarter-finals of the bett1HULKS Championship.
“It’s not easy coming after a few very good weeks, but I like to play indoors,” Schwartzman said in his on-court interview. “I like to play on these kind of slow, indoor courts. I tried to prepare well last week in Mallorca and then I came here with many days to practise. I think I did everything to play a good match today.”
The World No. 9 is pursuing his first indoor title this week in Cologne, his first tournament since reaching his maiden Grand Slam semi-final at Roland Garros. Schwartzman won 47 per cent of his return points and earned three service breaks in his one-hour, 20-minute victory.
“I think everything today was working very good,” Schwartzman said. “I had confidence on court and I felt really well.”
[WATCH LIVE 2]Schwartzman will next play 2019 Next Gen ATP Finals competitor Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. The Argentine won their only previous ATP Head2Head meeting in straight sets at this year’s Australian Open.
“I warmed him up [earlier this week], I know him,” Schwartzman said. “He’s a really dangerous player. He plays really fast, he has many abilities on court and he’s young, so he has the confidence and he’s playing good tennis. It’s going to be really tough. I have to recover well, but I’m playing really good tennis, so tomorrow it’s going to be a very nice match to watch.”
Jannik Sinner raced past Pierre-Hugues Herbert 6-3, 6-1 on Thursday at the bett1HULKS Championship to reach his third quarter-final of 2020.
The reigning Next Gen ATP Finals champion dominated return games, winning 78 per cent of his second-serve return points (18/23) to earn six service breaks. In his first tournament appearance since cracking the Top 50 in the FedEx ATP Rankings for the first time on 12 October, Sinner has dropped just seven games to reach the quarter-finals in Cologne. The Italian claimed a 6-1, 6-2 victory against James Duckworth in the first round.
“In the beginning, it was tough for both [of us], trying to understand how each other plays. [There were] a lot of breaks of serve,” said Sinner. “[I was] trying to find the key on how to serve, especially on the break points, at 30-all… I think it was a quite solid performance today.”
[WATCH LIVE 2]Sinner is through to his second quarter-final this season on indoor hard courts. The 19-year-old also reached the last eight at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam, beating David Goffin in the second round.
“I’ve never practised with [Pierre-Hugues], I’ve never played with him. He is changing every ball,” said Sinner in an on-court interview. “Knowing that he is a good doubles player, when he is approaching you have to [give] him a difficult ball.”
Sinner will meet Gilles Simon in the quarter-finals. World No. 46 Sinner is aiming to reach his second ATP Tour semi-final, having beaten Gael Monfils en route to the European Open semi-finals in Antwerp last year.
Britain’s Cameron Norrie loses to Canadian world number 19 Milos Raonic in the second round of the European Open in Antwerp.
Milos Raonic produced a fine serving display to reach his fifth quarter-final of the year on Thursday, beating Cameron Norrie 7-5, 7-6(4) at the European Open in Antwerp.
The fifth seed landed 19 aces and dropped just four points behind his first serve (34/38) to overcome the Brit in one hour and 49 minutes. Raonic is through to his second straight quarter-final on indoor hard courts, having reached the semi-finals at last week’s St. Petersburg Open (l. to Coric).
[WATCH LIVE 1]Raonic improves to 19-8 this season and will face Grigor Dimitrov in the quarter-finals. Dimitrov will enter his sixth ATP Head2Head encounter against the Canadian with a 3-2 record, but Raonic won the pair’s most recent clash at the 2018 Mutua Madrid Open.
Raonic is attempting to capture his first ATP Tour title since beating Roger Federer to win his eighth tour-level trophy at 2016 Brisbane. The World No. 19 has reached seven finals since that triumph, including this year’s Western & Southern Open championship match (l. to Djokovic).
