ATP Rotterdam: Stefanos Tsitsipas and Andrey Rublev fix dream semifinals
The first two semi-finalists of the ATP 500 tournament in Rotterdam areStefanos Tsitsipas and Andrey Rublev . Both struggled hard in their quarter-finals.
by Nikolaus Fink
last edit: Mar 05, 2021, 06:52 pm
After the narrow three-set win over Hubert Hurkacz on Thursday, Stefanos Tsitsipas had to face Karen Khachanov over the full distance a day later. The Greek gave the first set 4: 6 despite an early break, but Tsitsipas won the second and third round.
In the third section, things initially looked anything but good for the 22-year-old. With a score of 3: 1, Khachanov found two game balls in a row for an even higher lead, but Tsitsipas knew how to fend them off and left around 30 minutes later as the 4: 6, 6: 3 and 7: 5 winners.
Tsitsipas overtakes Federer
Due to the success, Tsitsipas will also replace Roger Federer as number five in the world rankings next Monday. The Swiss could fight back with a good result at the ATP 250 tournament in Doha next week. Should Tsitsipas win the title in Rotterdam, Federer would not overtake the Greeks with a tournament victory in the capital of Qatar.
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In order to win a title, Tsitispas naturally has to survive the semi-finals. And that should be anything but an easy task, because with Andrey Rublev the world number eight is waiting for the man from Athens. The Russian won his quarter-final game against Jeremy Chardy after two extremely competitive sets at the beginning with 7: 6 (2), 6: 7 (2) and 6: 4.
In the second semifinals, the winners of the matches between Borna Coric and Kei Nishikori or Tommy Paul and Marton Fucsovics will meet.
Click here for the single draw in Rotterdam