Japan’s Yuichi Sugita battled past Janko Tipsarevic 6-2 4-6 7-6 (7-4) on his 10th match point in a thrilling quarter final at the Intum Stockholm Open at the Kungliga Tennishallen.
Sugita cruised through to winning the second set 6-2 with a double break in in the fourth and eighth games. Tipsarevic broke serve in the ninth game with a forehand winner to take a 5-4 lead and held serve at love in the next game to force the match to the third set.
Both players held their serve in the first nine games of the third set, before Tipsarevic fended off four match points on his serve at 4-5. The Serbian veteran fended off four more match points at 5-6 with three forehand winners and a smash. Sugita did not convert his ninth match point, as Sugita hit a backhand long. Tipsarevic forced the decisive set with a forehand winner. Tipsarevic went up a 2-0 lead, but Sugita came back by winning five consecutive points to take a 5-2 lead. Sugita earned two more match points, when Tipsarevic sent a forehand into the net. Sugita finally converted his 10th match point after a backhand unforced error from Tipsarevic qualifying for his first semifinal of the year.
It was the final match for Tipsarevic on the ATP Tour. The Serbian player will end his career at next November’s Davis Cup at the Caja Magica in Madrid.
“If I had to choose one of the ways to finish my career, it would be like this, leaving everything on the court. I will remember this moment for the rest of my life. Dealing with different emotions is what I will miss the most. Those butterflies in your stomach before and after the match, there is nothing like this”,said Tipsarevic.
Sugita set up a semifinal clash against Denis Shapovalov, who cruised past Cedrik Marcel Stebe 6-0 6-3. The Canadian player, who has secured his spot for Next November’s Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan, cruised through to a bagel win in the first set with three breaks. The Canadian player broke serve in the fifth game of the second set to take a 3-2 lead after a double fault from Stebe. Shapovalov has reached four semifinals this year in Miami, Winston Salem, Chengdu and Stockolm. Shapovalov beat Sugita in their only previous head-to-head match in Basel two years ago.
Pablo Carreno Busta came back from one set down to beat Sam Querrey 4-6 6-1 6-4 after 1 hour and 38 minutes. The Spanish player set up a semifinal clash against this year’s Hungarian Open finalist Filip Krajnovic, who beat Yoshihito Nishioka 6-3 6-4 after 70 minutes.
