Djokovic with difficulty, Wawrinka fails in Doha
On the quarter-finals at the ATP 250 tournament in Doha, tournament favorite Novak Djokovic struggled hard, but ultimately prevailed. Stan Wawrinka, however, has left.
by Nikolaus Fink
last edit: Jan 03, 2019, 05:52 pm
Hope. That was what Stan Wawrinka was able to feel in the last game of the match against Roberto Bautista-Agut. In the entire match, he had no chance against the Spaniard, he had not found a single break opportunity up to this point, his opponent, however, was 14.
But then they were there: break chances one, two and three. However, with outstanding tennis, Bautista-Agut was able to ward off all possibilities and a short time later used his second match ball for a finally clear 6: 4 and 6: 4 success. Stan the Man's successful run came to an abrupt end after two great successes over Karen Khachanov and Nicolas Jarry - but the 33-year-old is likely to be the opponent that none of the seedlings in Melbourne wants.
Djokovic with a weak start
Novak Djokovic, in turn, had bigger problems with Nikoloz Basilashvili, like Marton Fucsovics before, especially at the beginning. After the set equalization, however, the first in the world rankings was the more solid player, made the ultimately decisive break in the fifth game of the third round and moved into the semifinals with 4: 6, 6: 3 and 6: 4 after almost two hours of play. There Djokovic meets Roberto Bautista-Agut.
In the second semi-final, the winner of the match between Tomas Berdych and Thiem-Vanquisher Pierre-Hugues Herbert will face either Dusan Lajovic or French Open semi-finalist Marco Cecchinato.