Dubai: Roger Federer overcame two rain delays to beat Marton Fucsovics 7-6(8-6), 6-4 here Thursday night and reach the semifinals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships
After a brief interruption when the players were locked at 5-5 in the opening set, Federer saved two set points in the tie-break and held firm to gain the upper hand in the contest.
The drizzle returned at 4-4 in the second set but Federer switched gears after the restart, sealing a decisive break to go ahead 5-4 and closed out the match in an hour and 56 minutes.
The 20-times Grand Slam winner, who is seeking his 100th ATP title, will next face sixth seed Borna Coric who defeated Georgia’s Nikoloz Basilashvili 4-6, 6-2, 7-6(7-1).
Gael Monfils meanwhile continued his fine recent form by rallying past Lithuanian qualifier Ricardas Berankis 6-1, 6-7(3-7), 6-2. The victory catapulted him back into the top 20 men’s ranking which will be announced Monday.
The Frenchman, who won his first title of the year in Rotterdam earlier this month, takes on Australian Open semifinalist Stefanos Tsitsipas in the last-four. Tsitsipas, 20, survived a mid-match wobble to get past Polish qualifier Hubert Hurkacz 7-6(7-4), 6-7(1-7), 6-1.
“We’re both serving really well. We have similar game style. I’m a bit more aggressive than him, but he’s much faster,” Tsitsipas said of Monfils.
The pair has a 1-1 head-to-head record with World No. 23 Monfils winning their most recent meeting in Sofia this year.
Reuters
