It will be an all-Spanish final at the Ecuador Open in Quito, with Albert Ramos-Vinolas prevailing over Thiago Monteiro and Roberto Carballes Baena defeating Andrej Martin in their respective semi-finals. No.2 seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas will play for his second ATP World Tour title following a tight 6-4, 6-7(4) 6-4 victory over Monteiro. Ramos-Vinolas’ serve remained unbroken in the high-altitude conditions and he out-maneuvered his tenacious Brazilian opponent in the second semi-final of the day. The all-lefty affair went largely to script in the first set with the higher-ranked Ramos-Vinolas squeezing out the set with a last-minute break. Monteiro, who was playing in his first semi-final at the tour level, kept the encounter close in the second set and capitalised on...
Richard Gasquet reached his sixth consecutive Open Sud de France final with a 6-4, 0-6, 6-3 win over David Goffin on Saturday. A three-time champion in southern France, Gasquet upset the top seed after one hour, 48 minutes. The 31-year-old will look to clinch his 15th tour-level title on Sunday, in his first final since losing to Alexander Zverev in Montpellier last season. “I’m very happy to reach my sixth final here,” said Gasquet. “It’s quite amazing for me. I never expected that, to be in the final again. I played four big matches, especially today with one of the best players in the world.” The opening set was decided by one break of serve, as Gasquet turned the tables...
Bosnian Mirza Basic had never made a tour-level quarter-final prior to the 2017 VTB Kremlin Cup, where he made the semi-finals. After a strong week at the Diema Xtra Sofia Open in Bulgaria, the qualifier moved into his second semi-final. But this time, after stunning top seed Stan Wawrinka on Saturday 7-6(6), 6-4, Basic will play in his first ATP World Tour final. He is projected to earn a spot in the Top 100 of the ATP Rankings for the first time at 26 years old. "I think I played a very, very good match. I was serving very good, so I think this helped me a lot," Basic said. "It's a big success for me. My first final after I...
Upsets reigned again on Friday at the Ecuador Open, but a strong favourite managed to avoid the bug and emerged as the favourite heading into the final two days of the ATP World Tour 250 event. Second seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas beat Austria's Gerald Melzer 6-2, 6-4 to reach his third semi-final in Quito and his first of the season. The 30-year-old Spaniard pounced on Melzer's second serve, winning 70 per cent of those points (16/23). Ramos-Vinolas will play in his first ATP World Tour semi-final since making the 2017 Monte-Carlo final (l. to Nadal). Ramos-Vinolas has fallen in his previous two Quito semi-finals, but he's the only remaining player in Quito who has won an ATP World Tour title (2016...
One year ago this week, David Goffin made his first big run of what would turn out to be many in a career campaign when he advanced to the final in Sofia (l. to Dimitrov). This year, the Belgian is in a different location, Montpellier, but the result looks much the same. Goffin reached the semi-finals at the Open Sud de France with an impressive 6-4, 6-4 victory against 2017 Next Gen ATP Finals qualifier Karen Khachanov, the World No. 49, on Court Patrice Dominguez on Friday. It is the first semi-final of the season for the 27-year-old. The right-hander battled to the semi-finals seven times in 2017, winning five of those matches. Goffin, who entered the match with a...
