Top seed Dominic Thiem and Russian Andrey Rublev progressed to the Qatar Open semi-finals in Doha after grinding out victories over Stefanos Tsitsipas and Borna Coric on Thursday.
Greece’s Tsitsipas took the early lead in the first set but Thiem, the only seeded player still in contention for the season-opening title, fought back to win 7-5 6-4.
ICYMI: predicting the 2018 year-end ATP rankings
“I was serving well again today and returning well. That’s what I was working on in the off-season so it already pays off now,” Thiem said.
3 matches. 3 wins.@ThiemDomi ends qualifier Stefanos Tsitsipas' run – winning 7-5 6-4 to reach the Doha semi-finals ???? pic.twitter.com/xeDdjrq8sa
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) January 4, 2018
Croatian Coric was expected to overcome Rublev, but the 20-year-old Russian won 6-3 7-5 to set up a semi-final against Guido Pella.
Both Pella and his quarter-final opponent Mirza Basic were surprise contenders in the last eight after knocking out top-seeded players and the Argentine world number 64 cruised to a 6-2 6-3 victory over the Bosnian.
World number five Thiem will face Gael Monfils in the last four after the Frenchman beat German Peter Gojowczyk 6-3 7-6.
17 August 2017
Alicia Molik, a former top 10 star who owned one of the sport’s best serves, believes se... More
22 September 2017
In the heat and humidity of the recent US Open series, there was a slow-mo nod to a long-r... More
22 February 2016
How well do you know your lobs from your lets? Take this test to see if you can be the nex... More
23 February 2016
Tennis is a funny old game. People love you one minute and then want to drop you the next;... More
© 2024 Tennis Australia